Thursday, May 31, 2001

A year ago 20 of the top 100 juniors nationally had verbally committed prior to the start of the summer camp season in early July.  Well, it looks like that number could double if the current trend continues, as 26 players who are ranked among our top 100 juniors nationally have already verbally committed.  Also one of the top freshmen in the junior college ranks - 6'8 Qyntel Woods from Moberly (JC) MO, who recently picked Memphis - has also made an early commitment.  So have eight other juniors who don't rank in the top 100 nationally.   In other words, we already have tracked 35 early commitments for next year and the summer camp season is still a month away.  We also already have tracked three early commitments in the sophomore classes from 6'9 Soph Kenneth Harris from Hammond (Bishop Noll) IN, who is committed to Valparaiso a year ago, and 6'8 Soph Darian Townes from Alexandria (T.C. Williams) VA and 6'2 Soph Robert McIver from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, both of whom picked Georgetown last week, and two commitments in the freshmen class from 6'5 Frosh Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN and 5'10 Frosh Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, both of whom picked Purdue last fall.  In order to track this trend further you can check our on-going list by clicking on Early Commitments from the Class of 2002 and Beyond.  Not only will we update this this list on daily basis, but we will make the players color coordinated based on where they rank nationally.  Anybody who ranks among the top 20 nationally in high school or the equivalent in junior college or prep school is in red.  This list already includes one junior college player in Woods; five juniors in 6'7 Jr Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'2 Jr Gerry McNamara from Scranton (Bishop Hannan) PA, 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, 6'3 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA; one sophomore in Harris; and one freshmen in Vaden.  We also are starting to track players who have repeated their freshman, sophomore, or junior year and, as a result, will be a year ahead of the rest the players in their class.  We will do this by adding three stars after the player's name - e.i. 6'10 Jr Deng Gai from Milford (Academy) CT and 6'4 Jr David Teague from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  Both Gai and Teague are currently listed as juniors, but Teague will be in his 5th year of high school next year.   Actually we're not sure what to do with Gai, because he may enroll at Fairfield in the fall, if he is a partial qualifier, or he may return for another year at Milford Academy. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

In addition to watching numerous games at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin and I talked with a lot of the top players about their recruiting.  6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, who is one of the top two juniors nationally, along with 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, confirms that St. John's is the leader.  However, he doesn't confirm that the Red Storm is a near lock, as he gives us a list that also includes Miami-FL, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Duke, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Tennessee, and Villanova.  Cooke also says that he will be a 5th year player next year and plans to enroll in a prep school.   However, he doesn't confirm that he's heading to Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, which is something we've previously reported.  Gary Charles, who is the head coach of the Long Island Panthers, confirms that 6'10 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'7 Jr Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY still are talking about going to the same school, but it appears to be less of a lock than when we talked to Charles about this possibility last fall.  It also appears to be a less of a lock for North Carolina and/or St. John's, as Charles tells us that Villanova has made a strong push since Jay Wright got the job in late March.  Charles also says that Illinois, Ohio State, and Connecticut are all in the mix for both Fraser and Sumpter.  Rubin also talked to both players and when he did, Fraser mentioned North Carolina, St. John's, Connecticut, Villanova, Maryland, and Hofstra.  Sumpter had North Carolina, St. John's, Maryland, Villanova, Virginia, and St. Peter's on his list.  St. John's, Villanova, Miami-FL, Maryland, and Hofstra are also on the list of 5'11 Jr Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY and Princeton, Northeastern, Boston University, and South Florida were mentioned by 6'6 Jr Tim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY.  Duke is believed to be the strong favorite for 6'2 Jr Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, but Illinois, Florida, and Missouri are also on his list.  The early list for 6'7 Soph Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago (Crane) IL includes North Carolina, Cincinnati, Michigan, Arizona, Seton Hall, Illinois, and Georgetown.  Iowa,  Iowa State, Indiana, Purdue, and Indiana State are showing the most interest in 6'9 Jr James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL.  Junior college is probably in the not too distant future for 6'7 Jr Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, but he likes Michigan State, Arizona, Iowa, Marquette, North Carolina, and Illinois.  Illinois is believed to be the heavy favorite for 6'0 Jr Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, but he still is mentioning Cincinnati, Marquette, DePaul, Michigan State, and Iowa State.  6'7 Jr Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL likes DePaul, Wyoming, Illinois, Marquette, Connecticut, and UCLA.  White also told me that he'd heard about us from 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL.  Apparently Curry was mad, because we said he doesn't play hard.  However, White thinks that was good, because it inspired Curry to play harder.   Villanova, Auburn, Kansas, Wake Forest, Massachusetts, and Utah are all involved with 6'6 Jr Denham Brown from Toronto (Bathurst) ON.  6'8 Jr Chuck Davis from Selma (H.S.) AL likes Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Arkansas.   Michigan, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Temple are in the hunt for 6'9 Jr Eric Davis from Camden (H.S.) NJ.   Speaking of Davis, he is planning on transferring to Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC next fall.  He also will be a 5th year player next year, so he won't be ranked as a senior.  Stanford, Cincinnati, Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, USC, Seton Hall, Louisville, Connecticut, and St. John's were all mentioned by 6'1 Jr Mike Lasme from Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  Florida, North Carolina, and Indiana appear to be the final three for 6'8 Jr Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Football is his best sport, but 6'7 Jr Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI says Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, and Missouri are all recruiting him for basketball.  Iowa, Iowa State, Wisonsin, Marquette, Cincinnati, Rice, Oklahoma, Indiana State, Utah, and Tulsa were mentioned by 6'8 Jr Andy Freund from Wauwatosa (East) WI.   Miami-FL, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Tennessee, Maryland, Villanova, and Temple were all mentioned by 6'7 Cortez Davis from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  However, the inquiry sign is back up with Davis, because it looks like he might be a 5th year player next year after all.  So obviously we'll check it out and get back to you.  Kentucky, UNC-Charlotte, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, South Florida, LSU, and Temple are on the list of 6'10 Jr Jabbar Young from Ft. Washington (National Christian) DC, but we're not sure he's good enough to play at any of the those schools.  Alabama, Auburn, Georgetown, Missouri, and North Carolina are the leaders for 6'7 Jr Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL

It appeared that 6'0 Terren Wilson from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, who was ranked #11 in the senior class in the state of Indiana by Jim Kasberg last fall, was all set to go to junior college at Cincinnati State (JC) OH.  However, he got a 1000 on the SAT on his most recent attempt.  Normally this might raise a red flag, because this is an improvement of well over 200 points from the first time he took the test.  But when you find out that Wilson takes classes like trigonometry in school, has a short attention span, unless he's dealing with basketball, and stayed up too late the night before he took the test the first time, it all makes sense.  Hampton had shown the most interest this spring, but a lot of Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conference had shown interest last fall.   And they might want to do so again, if they are looking for a solid point guard who can help run the show next year.  Anybody interesting in recruiting Wilson is encouraged to call Kasberg at (317) 585-0535.

We have to give New York Riverside Church a lot of credit, because they don't have one player who is a prime high Division I target.   But they still walked through the NIKE Memorial Day Classic in Bloomington, IN and beat Boo Williams in the championship game, 63-62.  The leading scorer in the title game with 20 points for Riverside Church was 6'3 Jr Ricardo Soliver from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, but 5'9 Jr Keydren Clark from New York (Rice) NY was the guy who made most of the big plays down the stretch, as he scored eight of his 11 points at crunch time and brought Riverside Church back from a three deficit  with only a minute remaining in the title game.  However, throughout the tournament somebody different for Riverside Church stepped up each game, so we also have to mention 6'0 Jr Jason Wingate from New York (Rice) NY, 6'9 Shakim Mitchell from New York (Rice) NY, 5'11 Jr Bobby Santiago from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, and 6'4 Ryan Williams from Troy (Redemption) NY.    The Boo Williams attack was much less balanced than Riverside Church's, as 6'1 Jr Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA and 6'6 Robert Strickland from Chesapeake (Indian River) VA scored 51 of their team's 62 points in the championship game.  However, that should change down the road as two outstanding young players get more confidence and experience.  We're talking about 6'7 Soph Darian Townes from Alexandria (T.C. Williams) VA, who recently made an early verbal commitment to Georgetown, and 6'2 Soph Marques Cooke from Suffolk (Nansemond) VA, who Boo Williams (the coach, not the team) thinks has more potential than Ronald Curry, but not as much potential as Allen Iverson.  And Boo should know, because both Curry and Iverson came up through the ranks playing in his program.  However, the championship game was really anticlimactic after watching 6'7 Jr Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'3 Jr Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Greg Brown from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, and all the outstanding young players who were in attendence at the NIKE Memorial Day Classic.  Wright, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the class, as well as a legitimate top 15 junior nationally, was the leading scorer in the tournament averaging 29.3 ppg.  It was a close call, but in our mind he edged out Anthony as the #1 player in the tournament.  However, Anthony, who was the third leading scorer in the tournament with 23.8 ppg, is probably the better prospect, because he's an incredible athlete with tremendous versatility and an improved perimeter game.  Anthony, who already has verbally committed to Syracuse, also just gets better and better every time we see him, which leads us to believe that his upside is almost unlimited.  In other words, he's a legitimate top 10 player in the junior class nationally right now and he may only be scratching the surface.  Brown, who was the 6th leading scorer in the tournament with 26.5 ppg, also has come on like gangbuster since we saw him last summer.   Sure, there are still questions about Brown's lack of size, but his incredible athleticism, excellent upper body, and ability to hit the trey make him a legitimate top 50 junior nationally.  But our guess is that Brown will still get underrecruited his academic situation is a major question mark.  An all-tournament team was not officially selected at the NIKE Memorial Day Classic, but 6'8 Jr Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'5 Jr J.R. Morris from Milwaukee (Washington) WI, 6'4 Jr Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI, and 6'1 Jr Chase Griffin from Issaquah (H.S.) WA would have been locks, along with Wright, Anthony, Greg Brown, Elton Brown, Gilchrist, Clark, and Soliver.  Another candidate for the all-tournament team was 6'6 Lester Abrams from Pontiac (Northern) MI, but he went home early and didn't play up to expectations when we saw him, although he did hit several big shots late in the game, as the Family beat the Tallahassee Wildcats in the opening round of the playoffs.  We also have to give a special mention to Griffin, who reminds us so much of Marquette-bound 6'1 Travis Diener from Fond du Lac (Goodrich) WI, who established his national reputation in this tournament a year ago.  And just like Diener,  Griffin needs to get stronger, but he has great handling and passing skills, is quick off the dribble, and can beat you with his outside shot and/or going to the hole.  As a result, we think he's a top 100 junior nationally.  Griffin is the best player for the Emerald City Pioneers, who are like the Gonzaga of the AAU circuit, but we also have to mention 6'3 Soph Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Field from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, and 6'5 Jr Grant Assink from Lynden (H.S.) WA.  Field is the best of the three right now, because he's a physical specimen inside, but down the road Appleby, who can play either guard spot and is an excellent athlete with enough to talent and potential to be ranked among the top 100 nationally in his class, will will get recruited at a higher level.  Assink's future is at the mid-to-low Division level, but we really like the way he gets after it on the boards and scores around the basket.  It's kind of funny, but we have yet to mention 6'4 Jr Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, who is ranked among a lot of people's top 10 juniors nationally.  Unfortunately his team (the Charlotte Royals) got beat before I saw them play.   However, several people who did see him play were disappointed.  So we're sticking by our top 30 nationally ranking of McCants and holding off on any Jerry Stackhouse comparisons.  Instead, we believe McCants is a bigger stronger more athletic version of N.C. State's Damien Wilkins.  In other words, the further away from the basket McCants gets, the less effective he is.  We also have to mention 6'7 Jr Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN and 6'7 Angelo Smith from Indianapolis (North Lawrence) IN, who led the Indianapolis Warriors to a final eight finish.  Actually we like Smith better right now, because he plays so hard inside.  But Rowley has shown dramatic improvement this spring and, as a result, schools like Iowa and Ohio State are showing lots of interest.   We've been hearing about the great sophomore class in Minnesota for some time, so it was a major treat watching Howard Pulley knock off Memphis, 84-61, in the semi-finals and Indiana White Team, 65-64, in the championship game of the 16-Under Division.   Running the show for Howard Pulley was 6'0 Soph Jessie Burton from Minneapolis (North) MN.  Not only is Burton an excellent ball handler and passer, but he's also extremely quick off the dribble and he's got great moves to the basket.  As a result, he reminds us of Boston College's Troy Bell, who was the last great point guard to come out of Minneapolis, MN.  Anchoring the inside with his athleticism, rebounding, and shot blocking is 6'7 Soph Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN.  However, what makes Coleman a legit top 50 sophomore nationally are his soft touch, good moves round the basket, and 15' range.  One of the best outside shooters (11-26 from beyond the arc) in the tournament was 6'7 Soph Dan Fitzgerald from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN.   Fitzgerald is also very skilled and deceptively athletic, which is why he too should be ranked in the top 50-100 range nationally in the sophomore class.  Howard Pulley also had three excellent athletes - 6'1 Soph Kam Taylor from Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'3 Soph Darren Clarke from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, and 6'4 Soph Kevin Hennerson from Minneapolis (North) MN, who were interchangeable out on the perimeter - and 6'6 Soph Matt Annen from Elk River (H.S.) MN, who does the blue collar work inside. And just think how good this team will be a year from now when they also have 6'7 Soph Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who is the best sophomore in the state, but currently is playing up with the 17-Under Team.  The Indiana White Team was also a well balanced team that featured 6'4 Soph Sonny Troutman from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, 6'2 Soph Matt Pait form Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, 6'7 Soph Sam Pharr from Rockville (H.S.) IN, and 6'6 Soph Bil Duany from Bloomington (North) IN.  However, down the road we look for Duany emerge as the best of the group.  We're talking about an amazing athlete with an incredible wing span, tremendous versatility, and two older brothers who got recruited at the high Division I level.  And he's still growing!  We already knew about 5'9 Frosh Andre Allen from Houston (Booker T. Washington) TN and 6'8 Frosh Jerrell Houston from Memphis (East) TN, both of whom have been touted for the last year as potentially two of the best players to ever come out of the Mid-South.  However, we also were impressed with 6'7 Soph Courtney Bohanon from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'0 Soph Dustin Richmond from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'7 Frosh Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'4 Soph Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, and 6'0 Soph Del Harris from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN.  Also making the final four in the 16-Under Divison I was the California Team, which was playing up a year in class.  Yes, 6'4 Frosh Curtis Allen from Palos Verdes (Rolling Hills) CA, 6'11 Frosh Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Garces) CA, 6'7 Frosh Dominic McGuire from San Diego (Lincoln) CA, 6'0 Frosh Gabriel Pruitt from Compton (Centennial) CA, and 6'4 Frosh Joe Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA all are freshman and all have big time talent and potential.  Allen and Swift also have McDonald's All-American potential, because they will be ranked among our top 30 freshmen nationally.

Monday, May 28, 2001, and Tuesday, May 29, 2001

Sunday, May 27, 2001

It was the best individual performance we've seen in a long time.  Several thousand people were in attendance yesterday afternoon at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in the Dean E. Smith Center for the 4:00 PM game between the Raleigh Heat and Beach Ball Select.  The main attraction was 6'10 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, who is the #1 recruiting target in the junior class for Duke, North Carolina, and N.C. State.  Also featured in the game was 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, who had been drawing comments throughout the tournament from Duke fans like "he's the best outside shooter I've ever seen."  Remember, Redick verbally committed to the Blue Devils last fall.  And he lived up to that billing again against the Beach Ball Select as he hit five treys, 11-12 free throws, and scored 38 points.  But when the game was on the line it was 6'2 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, who was totally dominant down the stretch.  He scored 45 points against a team that featured Randolph, Redick, 6'11 Jr Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Eric Williams from Wake Forest (Rolesville) NC, and 6'2 Jr Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, but that only begins to tell the story.  Need a big 3-pointer to get back in the game?  Felton provided several.  Need a big turnover?  Felton took a charge on the ball late in the game, which was one of the best defensive plays of the entire tournament.   Felton also kept setting up 6'4 Jr Alex Spotts from Lexington (H.S.) SC, who hit several clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes.  And when the defense didn't get back and/or relaxed for a slit second on defense, Felton has used his explosive speed and quickness and incredible athleticism and body control to make another magnificient move to the basket.  In other words, Felton not only took over the game, but he came through in just about every way imaginable, except one.  He did miss a free throw that would have even iced the game a little sooner.  But in the final analysis it didn't matter, because Felton proved beyond all doubt in that he belongs among our top five in the junior class nationally.  But who do you take out?    Not 6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, who had 19 points for the Long Island Island Panthers, and 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, who had 23 points for Fastbreak USA, when their teams went head-to-head the last game of the evening on Court #2 last night in the Dean E. Smith Center.  Not Randolph, despite the fact he didn't play up to his normal standards yesterday due to a cracked bone in his left foot.  Not 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Sagiaw (H.S.) MI, who led the Michigan Mustangs to an impressive 20-point win over the the Southeast Raptors in the final game of the evening in the Dean E. Smith Center last night on Court #3.  And not 6'11 Jr Sani Ibrahim from Winchendon (School) MA, who was a force to be reckoned with earlier in the evening when the Atlanta Celtics faced the Southeast Raptors on Court #1 in the Dean E. Smith Center.  Yes, the gang was all here, but there appears to be six players currently in our top five nationally.  And that was the big story when we left the gym late last night.  Now we are heading to Bloomington, IN for the NIKE Tournament and we provide all the highlights from both tournaments when we get a chance to catch our breath in a day or two. 

Saturday, May 26, 2001

The Michigan Mustangs have split into two teams, but it looks like Chris Grier's Michigan Hurricanes not only are going to weather storm, but they appear to be one of the favorites to win the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions after knocking off the New York Ravens in their opening round game last night.  He missed a lot of shots, but 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI picked up where he left a year ago when he was the best player in this tournament, as he scored 28 points and was the best player we saw all night.  Roberson combines great quickness with incredible moves to seemingly do whatever he wants to on the court.   And just like Stephon Marbury he can play either guard spot, but his lack of strength, incredible quickness, and ability to get to the basket remind us more of Allen Iverson.  However, what makes the Michigan Hurricanes such a good team are 6'7 Jr Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, who is a terror inside, 6'4 Jr Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI, 6'5 Soph Olumyiwa Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, and 6'4 Soph Curtis Williams from Creedmoor (Christian Faith Center) NC.  All the Hurricanes were missing was a presence inside, but 6'9 Soph Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI arrived late tonight nad will be ready to go tomorrow.   Getting back Roberson he told us that he wants to get the recruiting process over within the next several weeks and that Duke and Michigan are the leaders.  In other words, if he can't go to Duke, it looks like he's going to opt for the next best thing - Tommy Amaker, who is a former Duke assistant and the new head coach at Michigan.   Roberson also mentioned Michigan State, Florida, Cincinnati, and North Carolina, plus he didn't rule out going hardship into the NBA draft next year, if he thinks he can be a lottery pick.  However, Roberson, who has over a 3.0 gpa and should have no problem on the SAT, also expressed a strong desire to graduate someday from college.   Also playing well in the Hurricanes-Ravens game was 6'1 Jr Allen Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who also scored 28 points, although he and Roberson weren't matched up against one another.  Speaking of Ray, his high school Gary DeCesare tells us that Wake Forest, Villanova, Memphis, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Miami-FL appear to be among the early leaders.  We also were very impressed last night by three other outstanding point guards in 6'4 Jr Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, who outplayed 6'2 Jr Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA in their head-to-head to match-up, 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'2 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC.  Williams tells us that Illinois, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Tennessee are his favorite schools.  Ingram likes St. John's, Villanova, Duke, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Seton Hall.  Felton committed to North Carolina two months ago.  Also impressing us last night were 6'8 Jr Greg Brunner from Charles City (H.S.) IA, 6'10 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Jr Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'5 Jr Britton Thomas from Gastonia (Ashbrook) NC, 6'5 Jr Kevin Massiah from Toronto (York  Memorial) ON, 6'6 Jr Denham Brown from Toronto (Bathhurst) ON, 6'5 Jr Jonathan Modica from Smackover (H.S.) AR, 6'10 Jr DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'1 Soph Marcus Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'3 Jr Casey Gibbons from Exeter (Phillips Exeter Academy) MA, 6'8 Jr Andy Freund from Wauwatosa (East) WI, and 6'5 Jr Trent Strickland from Henderson (East Henderson) NC, who made a verbal commitment to Wake Forest yesterday. 

Friday, May 25, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on three early commitments.  6'5 Jr Trent Strickland from Hendersonville (West Henderson) NC has picked Wake Forest, 6'2 Soph Robert McIver from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA has announced for Georgetown, and 6'10 Jr Deng Gai from Milford (Academy) CT has committed to Fairfield.  The Gai commitment is especially interesting, because it isn't very often that a school in the Metro Atlantic Conference lands a player of his caliber.  If you will recall, Gai has been ranked as one of the top big men in the nation since surfacing last summer at Eastern Invitational.  Gai is still very raw, but he's a big time athlete with great shot blocking and rebounding skills.  The only problem is that he wants drift out on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers, instead of dominating the game offensively inside.   However, this is not surprising, because Gai's cousin - 6'10 Ajou Ajou Deng - transferred from Connecticut to Fairfield last winter.  Most people believe that Gai will go to prep school for another year, but Johnson believes the possibility exists for Gai to make up enough ground academically this summer to graduate and enroll at Fairfield this fall.  Johnson also tells us that 6'6 Jr Lester Abram from Pontiac (Northern) MI has reaffirmed his commitment to the University of Michigan.   This too is huge, because Abram is ranked among our top 20 juniors nationally.   However, we never really thought is was in doubt, as all the new coaching staff had to do was show a little interest and attention.  Kris Vance, who is the former assistant coach at Dixie Junior College, tells us that 6'7 Josh Clarke from Dixie (JC) UT has picked Virginia Commonwealth.  This is a good get for the Rams, because Clarke, who led Dixie to a third place finish in the National Junior College Tournament, will provide a good blue collar work ethic, excellent defense, and a strong presence on the boards inside.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the top junior prospect in the Philadelphia Catholic League - 6'7 Jr Mike Haddix from Philadelphia (St. Newmann) PA, who is already academically qualified with Ivy League-like grades - has an interesting list that includes Temple, La Salle, Drexel, Pennsylvania, Princeton, William & Mary, Boston University, Cornell, Delaware, Wright State, Rider, and Siena.  Rubin also has a list for the #1 prospect in South Jersey - 6'3 Jr Dominic Mejia from Vorhees (Eastern) NJ - which includes Seton Hall, Rutgers, Villanova, Penn State, St. Joseph's, Temple, and La Salle.  The fourth best prospect in the Inter Academic League behind 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh, 6'7 Jr Lee Melchionni, and 6'11 Jr Ted Skuchas, all from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, is 6'6 Jr Terrence Mack from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA.  His list includes Stanford, Providence, Pennsylvania, Richmond, Delaware, Siena, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Brown, and Yale.  Obviously Mack too is an outstanding student.  The best unsigned senior in Rubin's area is 6'7 Jamal Nichols from Philadelphia (Ben Franklin) PA.  Junior college or prep school may be in his future, but St. Joseph's may take him as a non-qualifer and Villanova is still waiting in rhe wings just in case he makes it academically later this spring or summer.  

The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC promises to be a big event, but the true master at running big events is Larry McKay, who is the tourmament founder and executive director of the Powerade Holiday Prep Classic and the co-director of the adidas Big Time Tournament.  The 7th Annual adidas Big Time Tournament, which will be July 25th-29th in Las Vegas, NV will include 312 teams with a total of 776 games.   Pool play will last the first two days with a single elimination tournament the final three days.  All teams will play three games in pool play and at least one in the bracket tournament.  The 56 top-seeded teams automatically will play  in the Open Tournament.  64 four team pools will make up the balance of pool play.   Winners of the 64 pools, plus the 56 top-seeded teams will form the 120-team Open Tournament (six 16-team brackets and two 12-team brackets, eight bracket winners to the Open Quarterfinals).  There also will be three additional 64-team tournaments - A-2nd Place teams from Pool Play; B-3rd Place Team from Pool Play; and C-4th Place teams from Pool Play.  The main media center will be at Green Valley High Cchool and the media contacts are Travis Gonzolez at 1-800-289-2724, ext. 2305, and Dominic Clark at 1-702-735-7123 and both are second to none with the jobs they do.   The field, as of April 30th, included the Southeast Raptors from Alabama; the Double Pump Arizona All-Stars from Arizona; the Arkansas Angeles from Arkansas; the Aliso Niguel Wolverines, AST Artesia, BWBA Orange, BWBA Purple, BWBA White, Canyon, Capistrano Valley, Chico Tar Heels, Diamonds, Double Pump All-Stars, EBO/EA Sports, El Camino Eagles, Hustlin' Eagles, Inland I, Inland II, Lakewood Y, Pump N Run, Santa Margarita, Temecula Valley, V.C. Jaguars, Villa Park Spartans, West Valley BB Club I, West Valley BB Club II, West Valley BB Club III, West Valley BB IV, and Yorba Linda Aztecs all from California; Colorado Jam, Colorado Kings, Colorado Select Blue-16s, Colorado Select Blue 17s, Colorado Select White 16s, Colorado Select White 17s, Cortez Panthers, and Martin Luther King Hawks from Colorado; Connecticut Gold, Connecticut Starters, CT Glory 16s, and CT Glory 17s from Connecticut; South Florida Youth Bball from Florida; Atlanta Celtics I and Atlanta Celtics II from Georgia; Hawaii Raiders and Team Hawaii from Hawaii; Rexburg from Idaho; Billy Shepherd Sports, Evansville YMCA, Indy Metros Blue, Indy North, Indy Red, Indy Metros White, No Excuses, Northwest Indiana Players, and the Spiece Gym Rats Stars from Indiana; Jayhawks, KS-ACT Running Rebele, and the KC Hoopservice Nets from Kansas; the Middlesex Magic from Massachusetts; Talley's Allstars, Team Detroit, and the Tri-County Cobras from Michigan; Springfield Heat and St. Louis Mustangs from Missouri; Omaha Tournament Gold Southwest Nebraska Selext from Nebraska; Bonanza, Football Falcons, Hawks Hoops, LV Shields, and Las Vegas Stars from Nevada; Albuquerque Hoosier from New Mexico; the Long Island Panthers, Minutemen Press, New York Ravens, New York Gauchos I, and New York Gauchos II from New York; Dayton Salvation Army, Eastern Ohio All-Stars, Northwest Ohio A, Northwest Ohio B, SMAC All-Stars, and Team Ohio from Ohio; Hunting Park Warriors from Pennsylvania; UCBA from South Carolina; Northern Stars from South Dakota; Arlington Wildcats, Houston Gold, Houston Lynx, Houston Prep All-Stars, North Texas Rice Owls, Swarm, Team Texas Select, and Texas Tornadoes from Texas; Fairfax County Stars, Nova United, and the Squires from Virginia; AHS Trojans, Battle Ground, Brewster Heights Packing, Chaffey Washington, Eastern Washington Elite, Emerald City Pioneers, Seattle Friends of Hoop I, and Seattle Friends of Hoop II from Washington; Milwaukee Soldiers, Milwaukee Swish, Playground Running Rebels, Randolph Blue, and Randolph White from Wisconsin; and Basketball Alberta, Basketball BC Elite; and Calgary Trojans from Canada.  The 25th Powerade Holiday Prep Classic, which will be held December 20th-22nd at Green Valley, Durango, Foothill, Sierra Vista, and Silverado High Schools, features a record 80 teams.  And to make things as manageable as possible in only three days, McKay has broken the field down into five five 16-team divisions - the marquee Las Vegas Millennium Cup, the Las Vegas Gold Cup, the Las Vegas Silver Cup, the Las Vegas Bronx Cup, and the new Las Vegas Copper Cup.  Champions will be crowned in all five divisions on Saturday, December 22nd.  Among the teams that will be competing for the Las Vega Millennium Cup will be Raleigh (Bonner) NC, Baton Rouge (Parkview Baptist) LA, Houston (Stratford) TX, New Orleans (DeLaSalle) LA, Uniontown (H.S.) PA, Louisville (Butler) KY, Austin (Westlake) TX, Huntsville (Butler) AL, Inglewood (H.S.) CA, Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV and Las Vegas (Durango) NV.  The rest of the teams include Alameda (H.S.) CA, New Orleans (Alcee Fortier) LA, San Jose (Andrew Hill) CA, Arvada (H.S.) CO, Henderson (Basic) NV, Las Vegas (Bonanza) NV, Mt. Washington (Bullitt East) KY, Downey (Calvary Chapel) CA, Carson (H.S.) CA, Carson City (Carson) NV, Cedar City (H.S.) NV, Las Vegas (Chaparral) NV, Littleton (Chatfield) CO, North Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, Eagle River (Chugiak) AK, Las Vegas (Cimarron-Memorial) NV, Henderson (Coronado) NV, Magna (Cyrpus) UT, Los Angeles (Daniel Murphy) CA, Denver (East) CO, Las Vegas (Desert Pines) CA, Minden (Douglas) NV, Las Vegas (Eldorado) NV, Pittsburgh (Farrell) PA, Henderson (Foothill) NV, Reno (Galena) NV, Bakersfield (Garces) CA, Denver (George Washington) CO, Greensboro (Day School) NC, Henderson (Green Valley) NV, Newhall (Hart) CA, North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, San Diego (Horizon) CA, Los Angeles (LACES) CA, Uniontown (Laurel Highland) PA, Denver (Manual) CO, Mars (H.S.) PA, Overton (Moapa Valley) NV, Modesto (Christian) CA, North Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, Van Nuys (Montclair) CA, Hyrum (Mountain Crest) UT, Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, North Hollywood (H.S.) CA, Orem (H.S.) UT, Centereach (Our Savior New American School) NY, Palm Desert (H.S.) CA, Palo Alto (H.S.) CA, Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NY, Las Vegas (Paradise Christian) NV, Payson (H.S.) UT, Perth (Perth Collegiate Institute) ON, Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, Edmonton (Ross Sheppard) AB, San Francisco (St. Ignatius) CA, Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, Las Vegas (Sierra) NV, Las Vegas (Silverado) NV, Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, Las Vegas (The Meadows School) NV, Upper St. Clair (H.S.) PA, Las Vegas (Valley) NV, Vista (H.S.) CA, New Orleans (Warren Easton) LA, Las Vegas (Western) NV, and White Rock (Christian) BC.

Thursday, May 24, 2001

The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC begins tomorrow night at 7:00 PM and the field appears to be nothing short of spectacular.  We're talking about all five - 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, 6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, and 6'9 Jr Sani Ibrahim from Winchendon (School) MA - of the HOOP SCOOP's top five juniors nationally, four of our top 10 nationally - 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, 6'2 Jr Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'7 Jr Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA,and  6'1 Jr Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL.  And just missing being ranked among our top 10 are 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA and 5'11 Jr Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL.  There also are 21 other players in the tournament who legitimately are ranked among the top 50 juniors nationally.  That list includes 6'9 Jr DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'1 Jr Alan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'9 Jr Deng Gai from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'8 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'8 Jr Marion Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Jr Kennedy Winston from Pritchard (Blount) AL, 6'2 Jr Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA, 6'7 Jr Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'10 Jr Michael Thompson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'8 Jr Yusef Baker from Orlando (Evans) FL, 6'2 Jr Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 5'10 Jr Mario Moore from Nashville (Antioch) TN, 6'2 Jr Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Jr Derek Burditt from Marrero (Ehret) LA, 6'7 Jr Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'7 Jr Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'9 Jr Eric Williams from Wake Forest (Rolesville) NC, 6'7 Jr Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'7 Jr Curtis Withers from Charlotte (West) NC.   So when Bob Gibbons tells you that he has an overwhelming number of the nation's elite players, he is right on the money.  By our count 5+4+2+21=32 of the top 50 juniors.  The tournament also includes an number of the nation's most elite underclassmen - 6'8 Soph Jackie Butler from Macomb (H.S.) MS, 6'10 Soph Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, 6'3 Soph Lodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'4 Soph Lodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 7'3 Soph Sagari Allegne from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'1 Soph Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Soph Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'4 Soph Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'8 Soph Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, and 6'5 Soph Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'8 Frosh Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'8 Frosh Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, all of whom legitimately rank among the top 20 nationally in their respective classes.  When the tournament tips off tournament tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, we plan to be at N.C. State's Reynold's Coliseum for the game between the Raleigh Heat, which features Randolph, Redick, Walsh, Thompson, Eric Williams, and 6'2 Jr Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, and the Master's Hoops, which has 6'7 Ilian Evtimov from Winston-Salem (Bishop McGinnes) NC, who signed with N.C. State this spring.  We also plan to stick around for the next game at 8:30 PM between Fastbreak USA, which features Stoudemire, Baker, Outlaw 6'1 Jr Will Holloman from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, 6'4 Jr Chet Stachitas from St. Augustine (Nease) FL, and the Charlotte Aces, which has Withers and 6'4 Jr Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC.  Then, at 10:00 PM we will get to see all three games at the Dean E. Smith Center.  On Court #1 it will be the Michigan Hurricanes versus New York Ravens, which means Roberson and Ray will be going head-to-head.  On Court #2 it will be the loaded Long Island Panthers versus Team Carolina, which features 6'4 Jr Cameron Bennerman from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is ranked among a lot of people's top 100 nationally.  On court #3 will be the Panhandle Players with 6'9 Jr Mark Patton from Martinsburg (H.S.) WV versus the Middlesex Magic with 6'10 Soph Hassan Fofana.  Several days ago we mentioned the 8:00 AM game on Saturday morning between the Atlanta Celtics and the Connecticut Flame in the 15-Under Division and the 17-Under Division game at 9:20 AM between in the Illinois Fire and the Michigan Hurricanes (Dockery versus Roberson).  But some of the other most see games, all of which are at the Dean E. Smith Center, include the New Jersey All-Stars and the Illinois Gold (Dean versus Brown) at 1:00 PM, the Raleigh Heat versus the Beach Ball Select with Felton and Wingate at 4:00 PM, and the Atlanta Celtics with Ibrahim versus the Southeast Raptors with Moore, Butler, Williams, and Jefferson at 6:30 PM.  We also plan to watch the other two games at 6:30 PM in the Dean E. Smith Center extremely carefully, because it will be Martin Brothers Select versus the Long Island Panthers on Court #2, and the Fastbreak Express versus the New Orleans Jazz on Court #3.  Obviously these are the highlights, but it will be wall to wall basketball all day on Saturday beginning at 8:00 AM and ending after midnight and we will provide you with all the highlights early next week.  So stay tuned! 

We got a call today from our buddy Donnie Wilkie, who is the tournament director for the Bank of America City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL and once again, it looks like his tournament will be one of the premier events of the entire year.  However, Wilkie isn't promising as field as good as the one in 1994 when Tim Thomas', Ron Mercer's, and Danny Fortsen's teams all lost in the first round.  However, he does expect to have the best team from New York City in Bronx (All Hallows) NY, the best team from California in Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, the best team from Kentucky in Louisville (Male) KY, and the best team from Texas in Missouri City (Hightower) TX.   If that weren't enough, the week before Christmas the Bank of America City of Palms Classic also will feature one of  top three juniors nationally in 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, one of the top 10 sophomores in the nation in 6'9 Soph Jackie Butler from Macomb (H.S.) MS, and a major sleeper nationally in the sophomore class in 6'8 Soph Warren Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA.  Also in attendance will be 6'10 Jr Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'1 Jr Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'6 Jr Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, and 6'5 Jr Michael Blackshear from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA.   Unfortunately the only thing Wilkie is missing are some of the top players in Florida's loaded junior class, like 6'10 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, who is the consenus #1 ranked junior nationally, 6'4 Jr Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL, who is ranked as one of the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'8 Jr Yusuf Baker from Orlando (Evans) FL.   However, Wilkie still may be able to find a spot for Miami (Senior) FL, which has reloaded with good young players and recently hired a new head coach in Marcus Carreno, who formerly was a player at Miami Senior during the Shaky Rodriguez era.  This connection is especially important, because Rodriguez, who has gotten out of the coaching profession and is now doing extremely well in private business, has the best of both worlds.  He still will guy be the guy running things behind the scenes, but he won't have to deal with all the pressure and scrutiny that goes with being a successful program these days in Miami, FL.

Wednesday, May 23, 2001

For years Gary DeCesare, who is the legendary head coach at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, has ran the adidas ABCD Camp like clockwork.  So you know that his 24-team event will be one of the best run events of the summer.  Three Striple Classic at Hofstra University, July 12th-14th, also promises to be one of the premier events in terms of outstanding talent and quality teams.  Don't believe it?  Well, just take a look at the field, which includes the Tim Thomas Playaz, New York Ravens, DC Assault, Atlanta Celtics, Michigan Hurricanes (formelyMustangs), Connecticut Select, New Orleans Jazz, Illinois Fire, Long Island Panthers, LA Rockfish, Beach Ball Select, FOH Wisconsin, Texas Blue Chip, EBO/Oakland, Fastbreak USA, Richmond Squires, Detroit/Inland, Southern Cal All-Stars, Baltimore Select, Team Carolina, Houston Superstars, and Raleigh Razorbacks.   In other words, DeCesare's event is so loaded that it is a must stop on everybody's summer camp schedule and he couldn't have planned it any better, because it will immediately follow the adidas ABCD Camp, in Teaneck, NJ, July 8th-11th.  And as long as we're talking about the summer camp season, my tentative schedule is as follows.  June 30th-July 2nd I will be in Washington, DC for the Pro Am Tournament and the NBA's Players' Association Camp.  Then, will arrive early for the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ, where I will attend a camp the Eastern Invitational College/Pro Camp in Teaneck, NJ, which will be joint production by DeCesare and Rob Kennedy, and spend the July 4th in New York City.  Then, I will be at the adidas ABCD Camp for the practice session on July 7th and the first day of games on July 8th.  Then, I will fly to Indianapolis, IN and attend the NIKE All-American Camp on July, 9th-10th and, then return to Teaneck, NJ for the All-Star Games at the adidas Camp on July 11th.  I also will remain in the area for the Three Striple Classic at Hofstra on July 12th-14th and combine my time between Five-Star Pitt III, which will be July 16th-21st, and Eastern Invitational II at Trenton State University, July 17th-21st.  Next, I will fly to Orlando, FL for the first few days of the AAU Super Showcase, which will be July 24th-27th, and Las Vegas, NV, for the last four days of the adidas Big Time Tournament, which will be July 25th-29th.  And on July 30th, I will return to Orlando, FL for most of the Junior Boys (17-Under) National AAU Tournament, which will runs July 27th-2nd.  Finally, I will crisscross the national to Portland, OR for the last three days of the NIKE Global Challenge in Portland, OR, which will be August 2nd-5th. 

One of the trends in basketball during the last several years is the proliferation of events during the dead periods for college coaches and several that are just around the corner include the Battle at the Bridge, Thursday, June 7th, at Long Island University and Charlie Weber's and Wayne Simone's Penn State Invitational, June 15th-17th, at Penn State University.  The Battle at the Bridge is worth seeing for anybody in the New York City area, because it will be the loaded Long Island Panthers versus the Brooklyn Beasts at 6:00 PM and New York Riverside Church, which is widely regarded as the best club team program in the nation year in and year out, versus Brooklyn Bridge, which is led by 5'11 Frosh Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, at 7:30 PM.   The Penn State Invitational is much bigger in scope, as teams from all over the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest are expected to be in attendance.  As a matter of fact, the word on the street is that Jerry Watson's All-Ohio Red team will be the next addition to the field, which already includes 38 teams in the 17-Under Division, 21 teams in the 16-Under Division, 12 teams in the 15-Under Division, and eight teams in the 14-Under Division.  Spots for teams are still available, especially in the younger age groups, but anybody who wants to enter a team needs to do so fast, because the deadline for entries is quickly approaching.  For more information or to enter a team call Weber at (703) 960-0417 and/or Simone at (203) 596-9264.

Would you believe that 6'6 Cortez Davis from Bridgton (North Bridgton) ME is only a junior in high school?   Well, we didn't until last night.  But that appears to be the case for this athletic combo forward who first impressed us a year ago while playing at the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions.  Usually it's the other way, whereby, they're trying to hide the fact that a player repeated a grade sometime along the way during his high school career.  However, in this case it looks like his AAU coach was lying about his grade, because he was concerned about whether Davis, who at the time was still a sophomore, would be able to play in the 17-Under Tournament a year ago.  And this may not be the only time this has happen.  As a matter of fact, we understand that several other players from Baltimore, who are really freshmen and sophomores, may be listed as juniors on their team's roster at Gibbons' Tournament this year for the same reason.  However, this doesn't mean that Davis will be listed on our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia Report just yet.  Sure, he plans to transfer to Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA for his fourth year of high school next fall, but until July 1st, we will list him where he played last winter, which was at a prep school in New England.  Speaking of Davis, his recruiting has really picked up now that four-year schools have found out that he is only a junior in high school and well on his way towards making it academically.  Among those already showing the most interest include Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Villanova, Miami-FL, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.  

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tell us that 6'7 Vytas Danelius from Indianapolis (Park-Tudor) IN, who verbally committed to Wake Forest during the winter, but who opened his recruitment back up after Dave Odom left to take the South Carolina job earlier this spring, has reaffirmed his commitment to the Deamon Deacons.  We also understand that 6'4 Jerell Parker, who is transferring from Loyola-Chicago, is on campus at the University of Hartford today.   And we think you can pretty much write this one down due to Larry Harrison's strong Chicago connections.  Remember, Harrison was an assistant coach at DePaul before getting the Hartford job a year ago.  Parker will have to sit out next year, but 6'7 Deon Saunders, who sat out last year after transferring from American University, should be eligible.   So should 6'8 Junior Amos from Connors State (JC) OK and 6'1 Charles Ford from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, both of whom signed with the Hawks this spring, and 6'1 Sean Swan from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'9 Trevor Goode from Virginia Beach (Cape Henry) VA, both of whom signed with Hartford last fall.  As a result, it looks like Harrison and his staff, which includes Al Seibert and Chris Pompay, who is the Washington, DC area connection, have turned things at Hartford around in a hurry. 

We have confirmed that Eastern Kentucky has landed 6'10 Johnny Hardwick from Compton (JC) CA.  This is an excellent signing for the Colonels, because Hardwick not only will provide the presence they need inside, but also is a big-time athlete with good shot blocking, and rebounding ability.  He joins 6'1 Kenyatta Dix from Frank Phillips (JC) TX, who signed with the EKU earlier this spring, and 6'6 Michael Haney from Madisonville (North Hopkins) KY, 6'1 Brett Howell from Auburn (H.S.) AL, and 6'9 Richard Sadler from Mount Airy (Habersham Central) GA, all of whom signed last fall, to give head coach Travis Ford what should be one of the top two recruiting classes in the OVC, along with Murray State.  It was reported earlier this week that 6'11 Donald Little is out at the University of Cincinnati due to off-the-court problems and now we're hearing that another Bearcat may be on the verge of transferring.  We're talking about 6'7 Antwan Jones, who a year ago was ranked as one of the top junior college players in the nation two year ago, but who had disappointing junior season, as he was slowed by injuries all last year.  Supposedly he's interesting in Florida A&M, because that's where his former junior college coach Mike Gillespe has been hired as the head coach, but we hear it's really between Kentucky Wesleyan, which was the Division II National Champions, last year and Georgetown College, which is one the premier NAIA programs in the nation.  Either way, Jones would be able to step in and play right away next year, instead of sitting out a year, which would happen, if he transferred to another Division I school.  And that's important, because Jones has NBA talent and potential.  Right now the smart money appears to be Georgetown College, because it's closer to Cincinnati, which is where his girlfriend lives.  But even if Georgetown doesn't get Jones, they should be pretty good, because 6'2 George Baker, who transferred from DePaul last winter, 6'3 Quintin Bailey, who was a walk-on at Louisville two years ago, 6'1 Jermaine Taylor from Louisville (Eastern) KY Belleville (JC) IL, are all expected to make major contributions next season.   We also understand that 6'1 Michael Griffith from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL is still looking a school, but also he is considering walking-on at Louisville.  

Tuesday, May 22, 2001

We have confirmed that 6'1 Jr Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, who is ranked #66 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Louisville.  This is huge, because it shows that new head coach Rick Pitino and his current staff are already able to do something that the previous regime was unable to do - close the deal early.  If you will recall, Pitino has been on the job less than two months and already he has landed an excellent combo guard in Dean, who is capable of both backing up and playing along side of 6'1 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY.  Speaking Hurt, he too committed to the Cardinals almost a year ago, but not before Arizona head coach Lute Olson forced the issue by giving Hurt an ultimatum, whereby, Hurt committed by X-date or the Wildcats took 6'2 Salim Stoudamire from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR.  And that's exactly what happened.   Stoudamire verbally committed to Arizona about the same time Hurt committed to Louisville.  It also is big for the Cardinals, because Dean promises to be a four-year player.  But even more important, Dean can help Louisville recruit big men the rest of the spring and summer while he's at camps and on the AAU circuit.  We also expect the Cardinals to get a commitment in the near future from 6'4 Frosh Antwain Barbour from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who led Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY to the Kentucky State High School Championship a year ago and Wabash Valley (JC) IL to the National Junior College Championship two months ago, and later sign the best three inside players they can get.  Right now almost everybody is a target, but the player they probably have the best shot at is 6'11 Jr Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA, who is ranked #27 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And the fact that Johnson may be transferring to Albany (Westover) GA, which is the school that produced 6'5 Greg Tinch, also could prove to be a huge advantage for the Cardinals.  Remember, Tinch signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play football at Louisville during the winter.  However, basketball is Tinch's first love.  As a matter of fact, we expect Tinch to red-shirt in football his first year and play exclusively basketball.  And, unless somebody really steps up wins the power forward spot, we'd wouldn't be surprised if Tinch steps into the starting spot.  Not only was Tinch, who is quick enough to guard a jet-quick point guard and strong enough and athletic enough to defend a big power forward, the best defender in the high school ranks a year ago, but he also is a world-class athlete and highlight film when in transition.  He can't shoot, but it doesn't matter, because 75% of his shots are dunks. 

Monday, May 21, 2001

After winning last night's NBA draft lottery, it looks like Washington Wizards president and director of basketball operations Michael Jordan is already to talking about trading the #1 pick in this year's draft, which will be held on June 27th in New York, NY.  But who would want it?  Unless I'm missing something, there is not one player in the entire draft who is guaranteed to be a superstar someday at the highest level.  The draft is loaded with players who have potential, size, strength, skills, et al.  However, nobody who has put together the complete package.  At least not yet.  If I had to pick somebody, I would go with 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, because he's physically going to be the next Shaquille O'Neal.  However, Curry has yet to prove that he wants it on a consistent basis.  Sure, he lost weight, got into better shape, and played well in the post season all-star games this spring.  But he did not play well much of his senior year nor was he very inspiring on the numerous occasions when we saw him last summer.  So like Jordan, I would be interested in trading the #1 pick for a proven player already in the league or several lower first round draft picks.  The only problem is that I'm not sure Jordan can get all that much for the #1 pick.   Sure, he should try and make a move with somebody like the Boston Celtics, which has the #10 pick, might be conveyed the #11 pick from Denver, and might be conveyed the #24 pick from Utah).  But if I were the Celtics I wouldn't give up both the #10 and #11 picks.  Yes, there is that much parity in the draft.  As a matter of fact, by the time it gets down to the #10 or #11 range, the draft actually starts to look pretty good.  In other words, there are a lot guys worth taking a gamble on.  Not only does this make the draft extremely interesting, but it also could make an astute general manager's career, if he makes the right set of moves.  It also promises to get more than a few general managers fired.  Remember, we guessing that an overwhelming number of these guys are going to bust.  While this would be unfortunate in the short run, it could turn out to be the one of the things that saves the NBA in long run.  Then, maybe the NBA would actually pay more than just lip service to the fact that they really don't want all these guys at such an early age. 

I talked to Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports briefly today and he thinks the quality of talent at the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions this weekend in Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, NC is potentially his best field ever.  He also expects to have 35-40 of the nation's top 50 juniors.   As a result, we plan to be there on Friday night and all day Saturday.  Then, we will get a 6:00 AM flight back to Louisville, KY on Sunday morning and drive to Bloomington, IN, where we should be able to see most of the action on Sunday and Monday at the NIKE Memorial Day Classic at the Bloomington Sportsplex.  In other words, we'll get to see two of the three days at both tournaments.  The NIKE Memorial Day Classic tips-off at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning and games will go non-stop, except for a break between 2:30 PM-4:00 PM, until 10:00 PM.  The same schedule will be in effect on Sunday, except Pool Play will end at 2:30 PM and play-off games start at 4:00 PM.  Monday's schedule will start with 16-Under Winner's Bracket games at 8:00 AM, 17-Under Winner's Bracket games at 9:30 AM, the 16-Under Semi-Finals at 11:00 AM, and 17-Under Semi-Finals at 12:30 PM, and the 16-Under Championship at 2:00 PM, and the 17-Under Championship at 3:00 PM.  In the 17-Under Division of the NIKE Memorial Day Classic Pool A will consist of the Charlotte Royals, Alabama Lasers, Team Texas, and the DC Blue Devils.  Pool B has the Indy Warriors, Portland Legends, Arkansas Wings, and Baltimore Blue.  Pool C includes the Houston Hoops, Bloomington Red, Emerald City Pioneers, and Magnolia Stars.  The Wisconsin Playground Warriors, Coast to Coast, St. Louis Eagles, and Mississippi Gulfport Stars at in Pool D.  Pool E has the New York Riverside Church Hawks, Memphis, Team Florida, and Howard Pulley.   In Pool F are Boo Williams, California Team Select, Bray Center, and Albany City Rocks.  Pool G includes The Family, Cleveland Top Prospects, Georgia Elite, and Queen City Prophets.  And the Illinois Warriors, Team Tallahassee, Kentucky Hoop Stars, and Shreveport Bossier Select are in Pool H.   For more information and the complete schedule go to www.sportscombine.com.  Getting back to the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions, pool play begins on Friday night with 12 sets of games at 7:00 PM, 8:30 PM, and 10:00 PM.  Then, pool play resumes at 8:00 AM with the Atlanta Celtics loaded 15-Under Team against the Connecticut Flame at Cameron Indoor Stadium and a dozen other games beginning at 9:00 AM.   We'll probably also stay at Cameron for the second game at 9:20 AM between the Illinois Fire and the Michigan Hurricanes, because that should be one of the premier match-ups of the tournament as 6'1 Jr Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL goes up against 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI.   Pool play will last until 9:10 PM, which is when the second place teams from each pool will square off, and finally at 10:30 PM it will be the winners from each pool in the 17-Under National Tournament and the first and second place teams in the 17-Under Select Tournament.  Sunday's schedule has not been announced yet.  In the 17-Under National Tournament Pool A will feature the Atlanta Celtics, Southeast Raptors (AL), Friends of Hoop-Seattle, and Team Dada (CA).  Pool B has Texas BlueChip, Illinois Gold, Tennessee Travelers, New Jersey All-Stars.  Pool C features the Martin Brothers Select, which won the Spiece Tournament two weeks ago, along with the Long Island Panthers, Team Carolina (SC), and Fort Worth Lions.   Pool D includes the Raleigh Heat, Beach Ball Select, Georgia Stars, and Master's Hoops (VA).  Pool E has the Alabama Ice, North Carolina Gators, Grassroots Canada, and Southern California All-Stars.  Pool F has the Tim Thomas Playaz, Los Angeles Paladins, Arkansas Hawks, and Friends of Hoops-Milwaukee.  Pool G has the Michigan Hurricane, Memphis Wildcats, Illinois Fire, and New York Ravens.  Pool H has Fastbreak USA (FL), New Orleans Jazz, and the Charlotte Aces (NC).  The 17-Under Select Tournament has the Houston Select, New York City Jaguars, Jackson Tigers (MS), and the Rhode Island Shooting Stars in Pool SA.  Pool SB has Jackson Panthers (MS), Illinois Central Hoyas, Ontario Wildcats, and Colorado 303's Finest.  Pool SC includes the Durham Disciples, Seattle Y.E.S. Red, Connecticut Flame, and the Challenge (AL).  Pool SD has the Atlanta Prep Stars, Panhandle Players (WV), Middlesex Magic (MA), and Tamarac Tarheels (FL).  For more information and the complete schedule go to www.bobgibbons.net.

After some additional input from Brian Merritt from Elitehoops.com and Paul Bowden, who coaches the Baltimore Select AAU team and has a web site at BaltimoreSelect.com, we have finalized our rankings of the top players by class in the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia area.  The one player that Merritt and Bowden have both tried to add to our list is 6'6 Cortez Davis, who originally is from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD.  However, Davis played this past season at North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  So Davis will be listed with 4th-year seniors in New England, if our New England Editor Wayne Simone ever gets us a New England list.  Merritt also tells us that 6'4 Jr Jarrett Jack from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) MD, who has been reclassified as a junior, may end up playing in the area next year at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, Riverdale (Baptist) MD, or Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Merritt also believes it is not a done deal that 6'2 Jr Marshall Strickland from Sykesville (South Carroll) MD will go back to Winchendon (School) MA next fall.  If you will recall, Strickland was at Winchendon until his parents moved from the Boston area to Columbia, MD last spring.  Merritt also has Strickland's list of schools, which includes Maryland, Kentucky, Illinois, and Auburn.  We find that fact that Auburn is on Strickland's list especially interesting.  Remember, Strickland is an outstanding combo guard at the high school level, but in college we project him at the point guard spot, which at Auburn already has been earmarked for 6'1 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL.  Or has it?  Indiana has always been mentioned prominently and it looks like the University of Florida is also making a strong push for Moore, who is expected to transfer to Oak Hill next year.  Speaking of the Gators, head coach Billy Donovan has already gotten a verbal commitment from 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, who reminds us of former University of Kentucky All-American Rex Chapman with his athleticism, outside shooting, and flamboyant nature.  It also looks like only a matter of time before Florida lands 6'7 Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Remember, his mother let the cat of the bag about 10 days ago, but, later they retracted it saying they wanted more time to make the decision.  We also are hearing Florida, along with Illinois, Marquette, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and N.C. State, being mentioned for 6'9 Jr Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI.   After watching Novak play several times at the Spiece Run'N-Slam two weeks ago, we're not sure if Novak is a top 100 junior nationally.  However, he is still an interesting player.   He reminds us of Tayshaun Prince without the athleticism.   Yes, Novak can shoot the lights out, which is why he would be such a perfect fit for Florida, but he's got to get a lot bigger and stronger physically. 

Sunday, May 20, 2001

Brooklyn Bridge was up by eight points with only three minutes remaining in the first semi-final game at IS8 at Jamaica, NY yesterday, but New York Riverside Church tied the game in regulation and won it going away, 98-88, in overtime.  Riverside Church was led by 6'3 Sean Dantzler from Bronx (Columbus) NY with 27 points, 5'4 Tyquan Goode from Brooklyn (Grady) NY with 24 points, including 5 3-pointers, 6'4 Eric Sterling from New York (La Salle) NY with 22 points, and 6'7 Wendell Gibson from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY with 18 points and 16 rebounds.  However, the best player was 5'11 Frosh Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who had 28 points.  "It was like watching Stephon Marbury reincarnated at the same stage," said Naclerio.  "Telfair has taken his game to another level.  I've never seen him play any better."  Complementing Telfair were 6'4 Jr Elijah Clarke from Washington (Springarn) DC with 22 points and 6'3 Soph Ramel Bradley from New York (Park West) NY with 12 points and eight assists.  In the second game the S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express was missing 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who was away over the weekend at a family reunion, and JYO might as well have been missing 5'11 Darry Hill from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who tried to play on an ankle that he had sprained the night before.   So that balanced things out, as S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express featured a balanced attack with five players scoring in double-digits, as they won easily 90-67.  Boston University-bound 6'7 Rashad Bell from Fresh Meadows (St. Francis) NY had 15 points, 5'10 Soph Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY had 16 points, 6'0 Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY had 16 points, Central Connecticut State-bound 6'7 Rob Barrett from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY had 14 points and 18 rebounds, and 6'2 Deshawn Warren from Astoria (Bryant) NY had 23 points, including six straight 3-pointers put the game out of reach early in the second quarter.  JYO was led by 6'1 Shabar Ewing from Cheshire (Academy) CT with 21 points and 6'4 Ryan Williams from Troy (Redemption) NY, who had 22 rebounds.  Also, without Hodge, S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express jumped out to 17-2 lead early over Riverside Church in the championship game this morning.   S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express also was up 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, but that did not stop Riverside Church from coming back to take a 35-31 half-time lead.  But that didn't last long, as the momentum changed again and S.O.N.D.A.Y Express took control of the game for good early in the second half en route to a 86-72 victory in the title game.  MVP honors went to Barrett, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.  Bell, who finished with 19 points, got the 30-inch color television, and Gaines was named the Rookie-of-the-Year.  Gibson, who finished with 18 points and 21 rebounds, got the Sportsmanship, which is given to the best player on the losing team.     The MVP for the entire spring in the IS8 League was 6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ.  Joining him on the first team were Telfair, Gibson, Hodge, Barrett, and 6'5 Sam Mejia from Bronx (Roosevelt) NY.  The second team included Williams, Bell, Hill, Goode, 6'1 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NY, and 5'11 Jerel Blasingame.   The third team consistented of 6'0 Jr Jason Wingate from New York (Rice) NY, 5'11 Jr Gary Erwin from Brooklyn (Paul Roberson) NY, Columbia-bound 6'5 Matt Preston from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, Massachusetts-Amherst-bound 6'1 Brian Preston from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'2 Jr Quincy Douby from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, and Hofstra-bound 5'11 Woody Souffrant from Brooklyn (Grady) NY.

Saturday, May 19, 2001

Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'1 Adrian Walton from Bronx (Regional) NY has verbally committed to Fordham.  However, Walton has not signed a National Letter-of-Intent.   So, if Rams head coach Bob Hill gets the Cleveland Cavaliers job, Walton will free to change his mind.  Speaking of Hill getting the Cavaliers job, our guess is that he won't get it.  Instead, it looks like the leading candidate is former Portland Trailblazers head coach Mike Dunleavy.  However, let's say that Hill does get the job.  Who would be the perfect replacement at Fordham?  It's a no-brainer in our mind.  It would be like hiring Bob Hurley, Sr at Seton Hall or Rutgers or Morgan Wootten 10 or 15 years ago at the University of Maryland.  We're talking about Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare and, unlike most coaches on the rise in the profession, we would be surprised if he  used this as a stepping stone to something bigger.  Remember, DeCesare's routes are in the Bronx and, as a result, he hasn't been willing to take just any college assistant coaching position.  Naclerio also reports that Brooklyn Bridge beat Rise Above, 89-74, and JYO beat the Gaels, 87-66, in the final two quarterfinals games in the prestigious IS8 Tournament Play-offs last night in Jamaica, NY.  The highlight of the evening was watching 5'11 Frosh Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY show why he is the best freshman in the nation.  He not only had 31 points, but he also displayed unbelievable poise, ball handling, and passing skills.  Telfair was complemented by 6'3 Soph Ramel Bradley from New York (Park West) NY with 12 points and 6'4 Jr Jason Olive from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY with 14 points.  Leading the losers (Rise Above) was 6'4 Gregory Plummer from Brooklyn (Transit Tech) NY with 29 points.  In the other game JYO was led by 6'7 Devin Neckles from Brooklyn (Canarsie) NY with 20 points and 6'4 Ryan Williams from Troy (Redemption) NY had 25 point and 25 rebounds.  Naclerio also tells us that 5'11 Darryl Hill from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who has been one of the most prolific scorers in NYC this year, had only 11 points, but adds that he was in foul trouble most of the game.  Leading the losers (the Gaels) was 6'1 Brian Preston from Manahasset (St. Mary's) NY with 21 points.  This set up yesterday's semi-finals games with Brooklyn Bridge versus New York Riverside Church's A Team at 11:00 AM and JYO versus S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express at 12:30 PM.  And we will provide you with all the highlights as soon as Naclerio checks in.

The official list of players who wish to renounce their remaining intercollegiate eligibility was made public last night by the National Basketball Association and it includes a record 75 players, including six high school players and 17 international players.  Players who have not hired agents and are currently in college can withdraw their names by June 20th and retain their college eligibility.  However, the high school, junior college, and foreign players can't.   Well, actually they can withdraw their names, but they can't retain their eligibility to play at a four-year Division I school, because they have given up their amateur status and the "testing the waters rule" only applies to players who are already in college.  A year ago 56 players filed for the draft, but only 25 were drafted.  However, 19 withdrew their names.  The six high school players in this year's darft come as no surprise - 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 6'11 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, and 6'10 Tony Key from Compton (Centennial) CA.  However, it apparently was a surprise to some that 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who is ranked as the #1 senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, didn't enter his name into the draft.  But not to us.  If you will recall, Wagner said all along that he would follow his best friend 6'7 Arthur Barclay to college a year ago and a lot of people didn't believe him.  Well, Barclay signed with Memphis last spring and Wagner followed suit severa months later.  As a journalist, you learn to judge your sources and this was enough for us to believe Wagner again this time.  Remember, Wagner, his mother, and those close to him have always claimed he would go to Memphis for at least a year and maybe two.  However, this is too bad for the NBA, which is in a desparate need of a new player with mass marketing appeal.   Don't believe Wagner can eventually be that guy?  Well, he has a bigger following as a high school senior right now than most pros.  He also plays harder and comes closer to living up to all the hype.  But the NBA's loss is college basketball's gain.  So chalk one up for the good guys!  The list of 42 Division I college players who have entered their names into the draft includes Arizona's 6'3 Gilbert Arenas, Pepperdine's 6'4 Brandon Armstrong, New Mexico's 6'7 Malcolm Battles, Rhode Island's 6'6 Tavorris Bell, Kentucky's Keith Bogans, Villanova's 6'11 Michael Bradley, Auburn's 6'4 Jamison Brewer, George Washington's 6'1 SirValiant Brown, USC's 6'7 Sam Clancy,  Stanford's 6'11 Jason Collins, 6'1 Omar Cook of St. John's, Seton Hall's 6'11 Samuel Dalembert, Texas Christian's 6'0 Edwin "Greedy" Daniels, American University's 6'9 Patrick Doctor, Central Connecticut State's 6'9 Corsley Edwards, Texas' 6'5 Maurice Evans, Houston's 6'9 Alton Ford, North Carolina's 6'4 Joe Forte, Arizona's 5'10 Jason Gardner, UC-Irvine's 6'3 Jerry Green, Seton Hall's 6'9 Eddie Griffin, Iowa's 6'6 Rob Griffin, Indiana's 6'10 Kirk Haston, Austin Peay's 6'5 Trent Hassell, DePaul's 7'0 Steven Hunter, Arizona's 6'7 Richard Jefferson, Arkansas' 6'8 Joe Johnson, Georgia's 6'0 D.A. Layne, Miami-FL's 6'10 Reo Logan, Fresno State's 6'4 Tito Maddox, Rhode Island's 6'3 Zach Marbury, Notre Dame 6'11 Troy Murphy, Kentucky's 6'9 Tayshaun Prince, Michigan State's 6'9 Zach Randolph, Michigan State's 6'6 Jason Richardson, Cincinnati' 6'2 Kenny Satterfield, DePaul's 6'7 Bobby Simmons, Clemson's 6'1 Will Solomon, Alabama's 6'7 Gerald Wallace, UNC-Charlotte's 6'9 Rodney White, N.C. State's 6'6 Damien Wilkins, and Arizona's 6'7 Michael Wright.  There also are eight junior college players - 6'7 Kedrick Brown from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL,6'6 Preston Bennett from Grayson (JC) TX, 6'3 Nick Burwell from Orange Coast (JC) CA, 6'8 Benjamin Eze from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 7'0 Rashid Hardwick from Eastern Oklahoma State (JC) OK, 6'4 Draper Housley from Lee (JC) TX, 6'7 Jamario Moon from Meridian (JC) MS, 6'7 Clifton Terry from Kennedy-King (JC) IL - and two Division II players - 6'4 Jawan Simpson from Puget Sound Christian College and 6'8 Derick Singleton from St. Paul's College - who have entered their names into the draft.  The remaining 17 spots are filled by foreign players.  That list includes 6'8 Goran Cakic from Yugoslavia, 6'6 Carlos Delfino from Italy, 6'8 Jefferson de Souza Sobral from Brazil, 6'7 Boris Diaw from France, 7'1 Denis Erhov from Russia, 6'9 Antonis Fotsis from Greece, 7'0 Pau Gasol from Spain, 6'2 Vlado Ilievski from Turkey, 6'10 Robertas Javtokas from Lithuania, 6'0 Raul Lopez from Spain, 6'4 Arvydas Macijauskas from Lithuania, 6'9 Bostjan Nachbar from Slovenia, 6'11 Lazaros Papadopoulos from Greece, 6'2 Tony Parker from France, 6'9 Vladimir Radmanovic from Yugoslavia, 6'9 Luis Scola from Spain, and 6'8 Mladen Sekularac from Yugoslavia.  Also noteworthy is the fact that seven of the 75 players who have applied for early entry into this year's draft also entered their names a year ago, but withdrew before the deadline.  Five are foreign players (Cakic, Fotsis, Ilievski, Papadopoulos, and Sekularac) and two are college players (Layne and Satterfield). 

Friday, May 18, 2001

We have already gone on record saying that new Rutgers head coach Gary Waters made a big mistake by not retaining assistant coach Danny Hurley.  Instead, he brought his entire staff, which hasn't previously signed a player East of Ohio, from Kent State.  However, now it looks like an even bigger disaster.  In addition to not being able to recruit Hurley's father's players at Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, we suspect the Scarlet Knights will also have a hard time getting players from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  That right!  Danny Hurley will be officially named the head coach at St. Benedict's on July 1st and already there is talk about this prep school with dorms and a very close proximity to New York City becoming the Oak Hill of the North.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'9 Mauricio Branwell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has signed with Seton Hall, 6'8 Jason Herring from Philadelphia (Christian) PA has signed with East Carolina, and 6'2 Duane Robinson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has signed with Rhode Island.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'2 Chris Ferguson from Irvine Valley (JC) CA has signed with Northern Arizona and 6'2 Eric Knight, who, along with Arizona State-bound, 6'2 Curtis Millage, led Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA to the California Junior College State Championship, has signed with the University of Portland.  So has 6'9 Eric Soderberg from Corona (Centennial) CA.  Trigonis also tells us that new George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs is making a strong push for 6'4 Cody Pearson from Sherman Oaks (Notre Dame) CA.  Others schools on Pearson's list include George Washington, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, UTEP, and Morgan State.  We also hear that 6'9 Soph Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is one of the top sophomores in the nation, made an unofficial visit to USC on Wednesday. 

A month ago we tossed out the idea that Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight should take 5'10 Scott May from Bloomington (North) IN as a walk-on, because it would help him get May's younger brother - 6'8 Jr Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, who is the top ranked junior in Indiana, as well as one of the top best juniors nationally.  Well, it looks like Knight's former assistant - Indiana University head coach Mike Davis - has beaten him to the bunch, because the Louisville Courier-Journal is reporting that Scott May will walk-on at IU next year.  May's high school coach Tom McKinney is quoted as saying that May "wanted to stay close to home" and that's conistent with what his brother told us a month ago.  If you will recall, Sean too expressed a desire to stay close to home, plus he told us that his brother going somewhere as a walk-on would certainly influence his decision.  Sure, May will play the game and consider other schools, like Ohio State, Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Texas Tech, but, in our opinion, this makes Indiana a near lock for May.  And this is extremely important for Davis, because it establishes that he can get the top players in his back yard to stay home.  Sure, Davis was responsible for landing Jared Jeffries a year and a half ago and he helped Indiana land 6'7 Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN and 6'1 Donald Perry from Tallulah (McCall) LA.  But he did so as an assistant coach.  This also is important, because both May's are the son's of former Indiana University All-American Scott May.  The Courier-Journal also is reporting today that 6'9 Caleb Halcomb from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL has signed with Western Kentucky.  This is especially interesting, because Halcomb originally walked on at Western Kentucky, but then went the junior college route, where he has improved dramatically in the last year.  Halcomb, who also had been recruited by schools like Vanderbilt and Texas Tech, had a 25 on the ACT and is academically qualified.   As a result, he is eligible to transfer to a four-year school after only one year of junior college.  He also will have three years left to play.  Halcomb, who averaged 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and had 84 blocked shots last year, will join the two other recruits Western Kentucky signed this spring - 6'2 Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY and 6'11 Randy Orr from Hampton (H.S.) SC.

It looks like Monte Towe and his new staff at New Orleans have wasted no time landing what has to be regarded as the best recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference.  And that's saying a lot when you recall that Florida International's class was ranked #19 nationally last fall.   However, New Orleans' class, which includes 6'10 Nerijus Lisaskas from Lithuania via Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, 6'11 Andriy Sukhotin from the Ukraine via Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, 6'6 Hector Romero from Venezuela via Independence (JC) KS, 6'0 Johnell Smith from Santa Fe (JC) FL, and 6'8 Victor Brown from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, would have been ranked among the top dozen recruiting classes last fall and likely will be ranked among the top 20 classes this spring.  Don't believe it?  Let's take a close look.  Smith was academically ineligible this spring, but in the fall he set the National Junior College scoring record with 86 points in one game, averaged over 30 ppg, and was good enough to get inquiries from schools like Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia.    He also was the #1-ranked combo guard in the junior college ranks by Jerry Mullen in his junior college scouting service. "Big-time shooter...gets his own shot," says Mullen.  If you will recall, Towe was the head coach at Santa Fe (JC) FL last season and obviously that's the Smith connection.  Towe also previously coached for three years in Venezuela, where he won the Venezuelan pro league one season, and, as a result, was able to take advantage of that experience when recruiting Romero.   You remember Romero, he's the strong athletic wing player who can score both inside and outside that signed with UNC-Charlotte a year and a half ago, but then went the junior college route.  Charlotte was still involved, as were West Virginia, and Manhattan, but Towe's Venezuelan contacts and the fact that Romero felt comfortable in New Orleans (it reminded him of home) apparently were the difference.  Lisaskas and Sukhotin were both stashed in junior college by Ronnie Everhart when he was at McNeese State, but when Everhart took the Northeastern job this spring, he stopped recruiting them, because he didn't need to sign any more big men in this recruiting class.  So the door opened for New Orleans to come in and steal them both.  Lisaskas, who is strong and physical inside, is more of post player.  He also is the better of the two right now.  However, Sukhotin, whose game is more on the perimeter, where he can use his deceptive athleticism and excellent mobility, has more potential.  New Orleans beat schools like Old Dominion and Texas Tech for Lisakas.  Vanderbilt, Arkansas State, and McNeese State had been showing the most interest in Sukhotin, who previously was a member of the Ukrainian National Team.  Last, but not least, is Brown, who impressed us last winter when we saw him at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.  Brown has the skills of a wing forward, but he continues to grow.   So this skinny athlete, who also had been recruited by South Florida, Auburn, College of Charleston, and East Carolina, will likely end up being primarily a power foward down the road. 

Thursday, May 17, 2001

If you will recall, two months ago we mentioned that Bob Hill could be out at Fordham, but retracted it the next day after a source close to the program assured us that Hill has things heading in the right direction and, as a result, has no plans to leave.  But now it looks like he may do exactly that, at least according to an article by Lenn Robbins in today's New York Post.  Robbins reports that Hill has had a preliminary interview with Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager Jim Paxson about the vacant head coaching position. "Hill flew to Phoenix last week and met with Paxson," says Robbins.  "Paxson is currently in Europe and unavailable for comment.  But two sources confirmed that Paxson and Hill met and the meeting went very well.  One of the sources said that Hill, who signed a 10-year deal with Fordham, has been trying to keep a low profile regarding the Cleveland job because the Rams are close to landing several key recruits, including guard Adrian Walton of Manhattan.  The source said that Hill remains strongly committed to Fordham and is not seeking another college job.  But he has never hid the fact that his goal is to return to the NBA.  He has such a clause in his contract Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin said when The Post broke the story several weeks ago."  We also continue to hear Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins' name mentioned in connection with the Cleveland Cavaliers job.   However, Huggins has been rumored to be going to the NBA for the last four or five years and our guess is that he will stay put, at least for another year, which is when he gets an annuity worth over a million dollars for staying put in his current job.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Tulane has signed 5'11 Marcus Kinzer from New Hope (Solebury) PA and 6'2 Byron Parker from Tyler (JC) TX.  Neither is as good as the two players the Green Wave signed last fall - 6'5 Karl Hollingsworth from Jonesboro (Mt. Zion) GA and 6'2 Ben Benfeld from River Ridge (John Curtis) LA.  But both figure to add valuable depth, which is necessary in the running and pressing system that Shawn Finney has implemented as head coach of the Green Wave.  This also puts Tulane into a position where they can go after quality, instead of quantity this summer and fall, because they only have two scholarships available for next year.  However, they will have four or five scholarships available for the year after.  And that's pretty important when you are reminded that the sophomore class in both Mississippi and Louisiana are absolutely loaded.   Johnson also tells us that 6'6 Justin Lyman from Binn (JC) TX has made it official for Washington State and Texas has added 6'4 Terrell Ross from Allegany (JC) MD.  Tulane and St. Louis were involved with 6'10 John Chappell from Fork Union (Military) VA, who orgininally committed to Wake Forest, but reneged when Dave Odom got the South Carolina job.  So it makes sense that Chappell is following Odom to South Carolina.  Speaking of South Carolina, Johnson has confirmed that 6'7 Carlos Powell from Florence (Wilson) SC has signed with the Gamecocks.  Sure, Powell promises to be a good role player, but the real story here is Powell's teammate - 6'10 Soph Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC is ranked as one of the top five sophomores nationally.  Our guess is that this should helph the South Carolina's chances of getting Wingate, assuming that he doesn't do something stupid, like go pro right out of high school.  Johnson also is reporting that 6'10 Trevor Harvey from Marshalltown (JC) IL, who originally is from the Bahamas and who originally signed with South Carolina a two years ago, has signed with Florida State.   And it looks like Johnson was correct about 6'7 Mike Hayes from Cowley (JC) KS.  He did sign a National Letter-of-Intent with Xavier last Saturday, but his mother never co-signed it.  So after taking a visit earlier this week to Connecticut, it appears that he will count with the Huskies' recruiting class, because he has signed an institutional letter of commitment with the Huskies yesterday.   However, he technically could still change his mind and go to Xavier, because the spring signing period ended on Tuesday and, as a result, the document he signed with Connecticut is not binding.  So stay tuned!

Wednesday, May 16, 2001

Our Kentucky Editor Larry Kihnley believes that 6'1 Michael Griffith from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL is one of the biggest sleepers nationally who is still available.  However, Griffith, who averaged 6.1 ppg a year ago as a freshman at Tennessee State, has been plagued by injuries the last two years.  We're talking about an excellent outside shooter and a world-class athlete.  Only problem is that he's really more of an undersized 2-guard than a point guard.  But he still can play at a lot higher level than the schools that are recruiting him - UT-Martin, Robert Morris, and Kentucky Wesleyan, which is the current Division II defending national champion.  Kihnley also tells us that 6'9 Caleb Halcomb from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL is making an official visit to Vanderbilt and he might be the perfect quick fix to replace 6'11 David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who was the Commodores top recruiting priority until recently when he picked Colorado over Vanderbilt and North Carolina.  Kihnley tells us that Halcomb, who originally is from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, has improved dramatically since enrolling at Western Kentucky as a walk-on a year ago.  Apparently he fell through the cracks after he was red-shirted and, as a result, transferred to Lincoln Trail.  Halcomb is still raw, but he's a big time athlete who is very active inside.  He also has excellent shot blocking ability, good rebounds skills, and a 25 on the ACT, which is another reason why he would be been a perfect fit for Vanderbilt or Texas Tech, which apparently also has called.  We also have confirmed that 6'0 Rick Jones has finally surfaced and now is heading to Murray State.  If you will recall, Jones established his reputation as a junior in high school when he led Georgetown (Scott County) KY to the Kentucky State Championship in 1998.  He also led Scott County to a runner-up finish in the Kentucky State Tournament in 1999 and signed with Vanderbilt after he realized the University of Kentucky wasn't ever going to offer him a scholarship..  Jones led the Commondores in 3-point shooting as a freshman, but had off the court problems.  So he announced that he was going to transfer to Eastern Kentucky last spring.  However, that didn't work out either and, as a result, he has been missing in action ever since.  It also looks like Georgia State has a steal in 6'5 LeRoy Davis from Southern Union (JC) AL.  You remember him!  He's the player who signed with the University of Louisville last fall, but made it easy for the new regime to get rid of him when he didn't have enough transferable hours.  So he has been given his release.  It also appears that his National Letter-of-Intent is null-and-void.  But that doesn't mean he won't become eligible to play next year at Georgia State, if he improves several of his current grades in the summer or Georgia State will accept grades lower than a C as part of the 48 hours in transferable credits.  At Louisville they won't, which is how they got out of admitting him into school.

Tuesday, May 15, 2001

Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio has confirmed that Northeastern has signed 6'3 Aaron Davis from East Orange (St. Francis) NJ and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that Alabama has gotten 6'6 Lucky Williams from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  Johnson also tells us that 6'7 Michael Hayes from Cowley (JC) KS has re-affirmed his committed to Xavier.  So why is he making an official visit to Connecticut as we speak?  And why did Auburn's Jamison Brewer put his name into the NBA draft?  Apparently he wants to follow in the footsteps of all the other Atlanta Celtics players - Dion Glover, Jumaine Jones, and Donnell Harvey - who have gone prematurely into the draft and busted.   However, unlike Glover, Jones, and Harvey, he probably won't get drafted at all.   As a matter of fact, we're not sure if Brewer would get drafted even if he came back to Auburn for another two years.  But it's too late now, because the word is that he already has an agent.  Johnson also tells us that the verbal commitment by 6'7 Jr Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA is premature.   And his high school coach Steve Smith confirms it.   Apparently Boggan's mother let the cat out of the bag late last week, but now they are having second thoughts.  But that doesn't mean he won't eventually opt for the Gators.  It's just taking a little longer than originally expected.  Speaking of Oak Hill Academy, this should be Smith's most talented team ever.  And, yes, Smith does confirm that he has another player - 6'11 Malick Diame - from Senegal on the way.  Whether Diame is as good as Smith's previous three big men   from the Senegal - Jules Camara, Abdou Diame, and DeSagana Diop - remains to be seen.  But that's the word.   However, Smith  will likely bring Diame along slowly and he may have that luxury, because it looks like he'll have 6'1 Jr Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL at the point, 6'7 Jr Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD at the three, 6'11 Soph Jermaine Bell from Rochester (Franklin) NY at power forward, and possibly 6'11 Jr Sani Ibrahim from Winchendon (School) MA at center.  Add 6'2 Jr Justin Gray, who was really a role player last year behind 6'3 Rashaad Carruth and Billy Edelin.   However, Smith tells us that Gray has dramatically improved this spring and thinks he's potentially a better 3-point shooter than Carruth.  And Oak Hill, which hasn't been ranked lower than #2 by the USA Today in three years and has won 42 straight game, will need all of these horses, because next year's schedule promises to be their toughest yet.  They will play in Los Angeles, CA twice next year.  They will be in the Oregon Holiday Classic in Portland, OR.   They play Louisville (Male) KY early and Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ and Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH back-to-back in the Prime Time Shoot-Out in February.   They've also got a number of tough games against teams like Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA and Dyke (Blue Ridge School) MA, plus they will be in the National High School Holiday Championship in Houston, TX, which is sponsored by NIKE, right after Christmas.  Also in that tournament will be Midwest City (H.S.) OK, Beaumont (Ozen) TX, New York (Rice) NY, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, Louisville (Male) KY, and Concord (DeLaSalle) CA. 

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'2 Kahleaf Watson from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA has picked Miami-FL, where he plans to concentrate almost exclusively on basketball next year.   If you will recall, Watson also is an outstanding football player, but, like so many players in this day and age, wants to play both sports in college.  As a result, he plans to red-shirt in football next year, but pursue that path down the road, because that's where his professional future lies.  Watson, who is an excellent penetrator and defender, is expected to challenge immediately for the starting spot at Miami-FL and, as a result, the Hurricanes are expected to be one of the better teams in the Big East next year.  We also hear that 6'7 Glean Eddy from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD may be close to making a verbal commitment to either Wake Forest or Clemson.  However, he probably won't enroll at a four-year college for another year, as a year of prep school at Fork Union (Military) VA appears to be in his future next season. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio says the big story in the play-offs at IS8 over the weekend was the play of 6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ.  "He was like a savage," says Naclerio.  "He plays so hard.  If that other guy, Amare Stoudemire is better than Cooke, he must be some player."  Cooke set the single-game tournament scoring record with 45 points  in his first game of the playoffs and then had 34 points, 24 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks in a 101-83 quarterfinals loss to S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express, which now appears to be the favorite, alone with New York Riverside Church's A Team, to win the championship next Sunday at 11:00 AM.   In the game against Cooke and the Wolfpack, 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY had 25 points, but S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express' best player really was 6'7 Rashad Bell from Fresh Meadows (St. Francis) NY.  Bell had 31 points and once again he showed why he is such a steal for Boston University.  Bell, who is ranked #7 in New York City's senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, reminds Naclerio a lot of Hodge.  "They both have that long skinny frame incredible wing spans, and a nice looking stroke from outside."  S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express also knocked off a loaded Long Island Panthers team, 87-66, in the first round of the play-offs.  Leading the way for the Panthers were 6'9 Soph Charlie Villanueva from Blairsville (Blair Academy) NJ with 19 points, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY with 12 points, 6'8 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY with 11 points, and 6'0 Jr Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY with 10 points. Bell and Hodge combined for 45 points and Central Connecticut State-bound 6'7 Rob Barrett from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY had 18 points for S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express.  However, the real difference in the game was the emergence of 5'11 Soph Marlon Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'0 Frosh Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, and 5'10 Soph Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  "Not only have Smith, Gaines, and McNeil really stepped up their game's, but they also handled everything the Panthers threw at them, as they combined for 20 points, five assists, and only two turnovers."  They also combined for 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two turnovers on Sunday against the Wolfpack.  Another one of the top performances of the tournament was turned in by 6'7 Wendell Gibson from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, who scored 38 points, as the Riverside Church A team manhandled the Tim Thomas Playazz, 89-58, in the quarterfinals.  However, in all fairness, the Tim Thomas team was short handed, as 6'4 Soph Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'10 Soph Darryl Watkins from Wayne (Passaic County) NJ, and 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA all were no-shows for Sunday's game.  And apparently 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, who had hit 31-39 3-pointers in his previous four games, including 9-11 3-pointers in the first round of the play-offs the previous day, couldn't carry the load all by himself.  "Ingram just had an off night shooting the basketball," says Naclerio.  He was only 1-11 from beyond the arc, but he did have 10 points and nine assists against Riverside Church.  Also putting up impressive numbers for JYO, which beat Brooklyn USA, 96-94, in the first round, were 5'11 Darryl Hill from Bayside (Cardozo) NY and 6'4 Ryan Williams from Troy (Redemption) NY, who combined for 53 points.  Hill also had eight assists and Williams had six Vince Carter-like dunks, as well as a blocked shot that kept the game from going into overtime.  However, the real difference in the game was the war inside between 6'7 Tremayne Singletary from Milford (Academy) CT and 6'8 Marcus Austin from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  Austin, who signed with Villanova last fall, is the higher ranked player, but he got out scored 19-4, out rebounded 12-6, and out blocked 4-1.   Instead, the player who stepped up for Brooklyn USA was 5'11 Jerel Blasingame, who, like Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley, has slipped through the cracks due to his inability to stay eligible in high school and, as a result, appears to be prime junior college material.  Blasingame had 21 points and 6'2 Jr Quincy Douby from Brooklyn (Grady) NY had 25 points, including six 3-pointers, for Brooklyn USA.  Also making a name for himself in the play-offs was 6'5 Sam Mejia from Bronx (Roosevelt) NY.  Mejia didn't show up until half-time of his team's 86-79 loss to the Gaels, but he scored 25 points in the second half and brought his team back to within one point.  Prep school is probably in Mejia's future, but he has legitimate mid-Division I talent.  Also playing well in that game for the Gaels was Columbia-bound 6'1 Brian Preston from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, who hit six 3-pointers and scored 34 points.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the tournament was 7'3 Soph Sagari Allegne from New York (Rice) NY.   Sure, Allegne had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in a losing cause for the Gauchos A Team, but he needs to step it up and become more of a dominant force if he ever wants to realize his unlimited potential.  So with half of the quarterfinals games yet to be played, Brooklyn Bridge will face Rise Above, which beat the Hoop Street Gang in the play-in game last Thursday and upset the Bronx Gauchos A Team in the round of 16, at 6:30 PM on Friday, May 18th.  Then JYO will face the Gaels, which is really the Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY high school team, in the last quarterfinals game at 8:00 PM.   And that will set up the semi-fnals on Saturday morning between the winner of Brooklyn Bridge versus Rise Above and New York Riverside Church's A Team at 11:00 AM and the winner of the Gaels versus JYO and S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express at 12:30 PM.  The survivors will meet Sunday at 11:00 AM in the championship. 

Monday, May 14, 2001

Sunday, May 13, 2001

It looks like the University of Florida has wasted no time replacing 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) FL, who has announced that he will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA draft.   That's right!  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is telling us that 6'8 Jr Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has made a verbal commitment to the Gators.  That brings the number of players that are ranked among the top 50 juniors nationally who have made early verbal commitments to 13.  If you recall, Florida also recently got a verbal commitment from 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) CT, who is ranked  #35 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Boggan, who is ranked #37 nationally among juniors by the HOOP SCOOP, won't be ranked as a high school senior, because, he is already in his 4th year of high school.  Instead, he will be included on our 5th year list next year.  He also will attend Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, instead of Oak Hill.  Remember, despite what our buddy Eddie Oliver thinks, Oak Hill is not a prep school and, as a result, Boggan can not return to this basketball factory next season.  Speaking of Oak Hill, Johnson also tells us that head coach Steve Smith still has the Senegal connection in place.  First, there was 6'9 Jules Camara, who sat this past season at Kentucky.  Then, there was 6'9 Abdou Diame, who was a freshman last year at Auburn.  Now there is 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who recently entered his name into the NBA draft.  Soon it looks like there will be another big guy from the Senegal at Oak Hill and the word is that he's better than Diop.  So stay tuned! 

Saturday, May 12, 2001

Two months ago we predicted that all of five of the highly touted big men in the senior class nationally - 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL - would all by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA draft this spring.  Well, with Brown's annoucement, it looks like we're five-for-five on our prediction.  Four of the five will likely go in the high first round, Cisse will probably be a mid-to-late first round pick and the only other high school player to enter his name into the draft - 6'10 Tony Key from Russellville (H.S.) KY via Durham (Emmanuel Christian) NC and Compton (Centennial) CA - is almost guaranteed to not to get drafted.  Among the college players who have made their names available for the NBA draft are Arizona's 6'3 Gilbert Arenas, Pepperdine's 6'4 Brandon Armstrong, Kentucky's Keith Bogans, Villanova's 6'11 Michael Bradley, 6'7 Kedrick Brown from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, George Washington's 6'1 SirValiant Brown, USC's 6'7 Sam Clancy,  Stanford's 6'11 Jason Collins, 6'1 Omar Cook of St. John's, Seton Hall's 6'11 Samuel Dalembert, Texas' 6'5 Maurice Evans, North Carolina's 6'4 Joe Forte, Arizona's 5'10 Jason Gardner, Seton Hall's 6'9 Eddie Griffin, Indiana's 6'10 Kirk Haston, DePaul's 7'0 Steven Hunter, Arizona's 6'7 Richard Jefferson, Arkansas' 6'8 Joe Johnson, Georgia's 6'0 D.A. Layne, Notre Dame 6'11 Troy Murphy, Kentucky's 6'9 Tayshaun Prince, Michigan State's 6'9 Zach Randolph, Michigan State's 6'6 Jason Richardson, Cincinnati' 6'2 Kenny Satterfield, DePaul's 6'7 Bobby Simmons, Clemson's 6'1 Will Solomon, Alabama's 6'7 Gerald Wallace, UNC-Charlotte's 6'9 Rodney White, N.C. State's 6'6 Damien Wilkins, and Arizona's 6'7 Michael Wright.  That's 36 players who have made their names available prematurely for the NBA draft and there is no question that most of them aren't ready.  As a matter of fact, last weekend at the Spiece Tournament in Ft. Wayne, IN, Van Coleman, who is the editor and publisher of Future Stars, presented me with a very startling statistic.  Did you know that in recent years 60% of the players who have entered their names into the NBA draft early haven't gotten drafted.   Sure, some of these guys won't sign with agents and, as a result, will be able to pull out up until a week before the draft, like Temple's 6'10 Kevin Lyde did several days ago.  But the professional European leagues have better players across the board right now than do the college ranks.  So we expect 10-20 foreign players to be taken in the draft and there are still some good college seniors available, like Duke's Shane Battier, Arizona's Loren Woods, Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley, UNLV's Kaspars Kambala, North Carolina's Brandon Haywood, Maryland's Terence Morris, Tennessee's Tony Harris, and Penn State's Joe Crispin.  So it's going to be real interesting to see who goes where in the draft, which will be June 27th.  However, it will be even more interesting to see who eventually makes it and who doesn't.  Our guess is that this will be remembered as the year that a lot of guys didn't make it.  There is just too much margin for error with most of these guys.  As a matter of fact, the only two players who we think are ready to make the transition to the NBA next year haven't entered their names into the draft.  We're talking about Duke's Jason Williams and Memphis-bound 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ. 

Friday, May 11, 2001

We're already talked a lot about the great recruiting class that we expect Duke to land next fall.  Already having made early verbal commitments to Duke are 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'10 Jr Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, and 6'7 Jr Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.   The Blue Devils also are believed to be the leader for 6'1 Jr Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL and 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC and among the leaders for 6'10 Jr Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  They also are the co-favorite, along with Michigan State, for 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI.  But we haven't been mentioning Robeson as likely in Duke's great recruiting class, because he is the best friend of 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who signed with Michigan State last fall.  As a result, we think it will be very tough to beat the Spartans, as well as Michigan, which is expected to make a strong push now that Tommy Amaker is the head coach of the Wolverines.  But let's say that Roberson does pick the Blue Devils and 6'0 Jr Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL goes to University of Illinois.  Where would Dockery go?  Remember, Dockery's top three schools are Duke, Illinois, and Cincinnati.  Obviously it would be tough for Dockery to go to Duke or Illinois, but the Bearcats will be in need of a point guard next year, despite the fact they recently landed 6'0 Taron Barker from Odessa (JC) TX.   In other words, Barker may solve some short term problems for the Cincinnati next year, but he isn't good enough to scare off a great point guard, like Dockery, Brown, or Roberson, all of whom have the Bearcats on their list.

We talked to our new Canadian Editor Ro Russell today and he tells us that 6'9 Terry Licorish from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC via Toronto, ON, is down to only two schools - Cincinnati and Louisville.  Especially interesting is the fact Mick Cronin, who recently left Cincinnati to become the associate head coach at Louisville, now has recruited Licorish for both schools.  Licorish, who is one of only two seniors left ranked among our top 100 nationally still unsigned and/or uncommitted , still hasn't made it academically.  But if he does, Russell thinks he will pick Louisville.  And Russell thinks it may be a lot closer than most people think.  "Licorish has the necessary core and he should be able to improve enough to get the necessary score," says Russell.  Russell also tells us that Maryland, West Virginia, Florida State, Kentucky, Missouri, Villanova, Miami-Fl, and Auburn are all in the hunt for 6'5 Jr Aaron Hutchinson from Creedmoor (Christian Faith) NC, who he ranks as the top Canadian player in the junior class.  Russell also informs us that 6'6 Jr Denham Brown from Toronto (Bathhurst) ON, who was the Canadian Player of the Year this past season, likes Auburn, Kansas, Wake Forest, Villanova, Illinois, and Massachusetts.  Speaking of Russell, he plans to get us a report on the top players from Canada within the next week, which should be similar to our state-by-state and area reports that are published exclusively here in the Members Section.  And to make room for this in our data base, we plan to combine our Oklahoma Report with the Iowa/Nebraska/Missouri/Kansas Report, which is one of the things we're years behind on.   However, this is on our agenda and we attempt to get 100% caught up this spring.  

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Jamaal Scott is transferring from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo to Richmond.  This is huge for the Spiders, because Scott, who was ranked #100 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in our final rankings of the Class of 2000, was Cal Poly's best player last year as a freshman.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'7 Vytas Danelius from Indianapolis (Park-Tudor) IN, who verbally committed to Wake Forest last fall, but has since opened his recruitment back up, is down to four schools.   Danelius still is considering the Deamon Deacons, but he also likes Xavier and has recently taken official visits to Notre Dame and South Carolina.  Especially interesting is the fact that the same coaches remain on Danelius' list.  If you will recall, Skip Prosser went from Xavier to Wake Forest and Dave Odom went from Wake Forest to South Carolina.  Johnson also has confirmed that Providence has signed 6'9 Tuukka Kotti from Forssa, Finland, who was a member of the Finnish National Team, Texas Tech has landed 7'0, 280 lbs., Mickey Michalec from Skitook (H.S.) OK, and Washington State has landed 6'11 Pawel Stasiak from Cloud (JC) KS and Shami Gill from Toronto (Pacock) ON.  Kris Vance, the former assistant coach at Dixie Junior College, has confirmed that his old school has signed 6'7 Tamsir Ba from Louisville (Moore) KY.  However, Rubin believes that La Salle will hang in there until the bitter end just in case Ba makes it academically.  We also hear that 6'6 Teran Harbut from Lexington (Bryan Station) KY will likely end up at Dixie (JC) UT and that 6'5 Anthony Johnson from Louisville (Iroquois) KY may be heading to Motlow State (JC) TN. 

Thursday, May 10, 2001

Unfortunately this one got lost in the shuffle while we were coving the Spiece Tournament last weekend, but Georgetown got an early commitment late last week from 6'8 Soph Darrien Townes from Alexandria (T.C. Williams) VA.  This is important, because Townes was ranked #5 in that loaded sophomore class in our Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia Report, which was published earlier this week.   Townes is best described as a Marcus Camby type.  "Lanky with long arms and blocks every shot in sight."  He actually blocked 16 shot in one game this season.  We also have confirmed that all three of players who committed to Massachusetts last fall are now heading elsewhere.  The best of the group - 6'5 Eddie Basden from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD has signed with UNC-Charlotte.   The other two - 6'2 Jeremiah King from Paterson (Catholic) NJ via Winchendon (School) MA and 6'9 Mauricio Branwell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA - both appear to be interested in following in the footsteps of the head coach who originally signed them.  Actually with King it is already official.  He's already done for Drexel.  And we expect Branwell to also pick Drexel, which would be the perfect place for him to continue to develop as a shot blocker and rebounder.   However, like so many players in this day and age, Branwell wants to be a finesse player, whereby, he goes outside and shoots 3-pointers.  As a result, he's not developed the way we expected him to the last two years and, if he tries to go to a high Division I school, he runs the risk of getting lost.  The Dragons also have signed 6'6 Danny Hinds from Allentown (Central Catholic) PA, who is ranked #20 in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area by Allen Rubin.   Speaking of Rubin, he also informs us that 7'0 Chris Charles from Milford (Academy) CT has signed with Villanova.  This was actually supposed to have happened a month ago, but then Charles, who originally committed to Seton Hall last fall, re-opened his recruitment.  However, now it is official for Villanova.

Our new Baltimore Editor Paul Bowden tells us that the latest list for 6'0 Jr Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA includes schools like Providence, UNC-Charlotte, Xavier, Miami-FL, La Salle, and West Virginia.  However, Galloway, who was reclassified as a junior this year, is expected to return to prep school next year and for our purposes will be listed as 5th year player, because he will be in his 9th and 10th semesters of high school.  In other words, his list will get longer before it gets shorter.  Also getting earlier attention from St. Joseph's, Richmond, James Madison, Dayton, VCU, Navy, and West Virginia is 6'10 Jr Kevin Steenberge from River Hill (H.S.) MD, who currently is ranked #21 among juniors in our Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia Report.   Making Steenberge even more intriguing is the fact that he combines size and agility with an excellent academic record.  "Kevin carries a 4.0 gpa and had already scored over 1100 on the SAT," says Bowden.  La Salle, Richmond, William & Mary, James Madison, Youngstown State, and Towson are all showing 6'4 Jr Gary Neal, who has transferred from Aberdeen (H.S.) MD to Towson (Calvert Hall) MD.  Bowden also thinks Neal will help Calvert Hall fight for the championship next year.  In addition to Neal, Calvert Hall also will have 6'4 Jr Dwayne Birden, who was a first team All-Catholic League player this past season, 6'4 Jr Pierre Jones, 5'10 Soph Maurice Barksdale, 6'1 Soph Vincent Dulaney, and 5'9 Soph Marcus Johnson all back next year.  6'6 Jai Lewis from Aberdeen (H.S.) MD, who was a First Team All Metro Selection in the Baltimore Area this year, will either go the junior college or prep school route.   Among the junior colleges involved are Western Wyoming (JC) WY, Paris (JC) TX, Hagerstown (JC) MD, and Garrett (JC) MD.  However, Lewis is close on the SAT.   So all he really needs to get are his core classes and, as a result, prep school might be a better option.  Bowden believes Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA are the most likely possibilities.  6'2 Calvin Dotson from Mott (JC) MI had verbally committed to Towson Catholic in April, but with the coaching changes has re-opened his recruiting and took an official visit to Northeastern last weekend.  Marcus Harrison, the 6'7 wing forward from Baltimore (Mervo) MD, and 6'6 Pierre Tucker from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD via Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT both have signed with Colby (JC) KS.  For more information about players in the Baltimore Area, as well as the Baltimore Select AAU team, check out Bowden's web site at BaltimoreSelect.com.

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is excited because the play-offs for the IS8 Spring League start tonight and in his estimation there are least 75 players regardless of class with Division I college potential.  Of the 30 teams in the IS8 Spring League, the top 18 are in the play-offs, but the field will be cut to 16 after tonights games, which are Rise Above versus the Hoop Street Gang at 6:30 PM and the Renaissance Warriors versus New Jersey at 8:00 PM.  Then, the round of 16 starts tomorrow night with the Gauchos A Team, which includes 5'11 Jr Marvin McCullough from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 6'3 Jr Shawn Wynn from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'9 Jr Aaron Nelson from New York (La Salle) NY, and 7'3 Soph Sarari Allegne from New York (Rice) NY, against the winner of Rise Above versus the Hoop Street Gang at 6:30 PM and the Gaels, which features 6'4 Manadou Diakhat from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, against the winner of Renaissance Warriors versus New Jersey at 8:00 PM.  On Saturday the round of 16 will resume at 9:30 AM with the Wolfpack, which features 6'6 Jr Leonard Cook from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, who is the #2- ranked junior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, versus the Rebels.  At 11:00 AM it will be the S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express versus the Long Island Panthers in what promises to be one of the best games of the entire tournament.  The S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express features N.C. State-bound 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Rob Barrett from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who was the most improved player in New York City this spring and, as a result, a major steal in Boston University, 6'3 DeShawn Warren from Astoria (Bryant) NY, 6'0 Soph Marlon Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, and 6'0 Frosh Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY.  The Long Island Panthers feature 6'8 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Soph Charlie Villanueva from Blairsville (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'5 Jr Jim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, 6'0 Jr Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and 5'11 Eric Ferguson from Milford (Academy) NY.  The 12:30 PM game also should be a great one as well.  The Riverside B Team has 6'0 Jr Jason Wingate from New York (Rice) NY, who has had a great spring, 5'8 Jr Keydren Clark from New York (Rice) NY, 6'9 Jr Shakeen Mitchell from New York (Rice) NY, 5'10 Jr Bobby Santiago from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, and 6'3 Jr Ricardo Soliver from Bronx (All Hallows) NY.  The Tim Thomas Playazz has 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'3 Jr Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'4 Soph Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'10 Soph Darryl Watkins from Wayne (Passaic County) NJ, plus 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) NJ, and 6'7 Jr Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA are on the roster.  The final game of the day will be at 2:00 PM between the Gauchos B Team, which includes 6'0 Adrian Walton from Bronx (Regional) NY, 6'3 Wilbur Williams from Bronx (Regional) NY, and 6'4 Jermaine Pringle from Bronx (Regional) NY, and the Riverside Church A Team with Hofstra-signee 6'7 Wendell Gibson from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, Albany-bound 6'5 Michael Clark from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, 6'0 Teddy Mumford from Brookyln (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 5'4 Tyquan Good from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, who signed early with Fairfield.  The final two round of 16 games will be played on Sunday morning with Brooklyn USA versus JYO at 9:30 AM and Exodus versus Brooklyn Bridge at 11:00 AM.  Brooklyn USA has 6'2 Jr Quincy Douby from Brooklyn (Grady) NY and 6'3 Curtis Stinson, who currently isn't enrolled at any school.  JYO has 5'11 Darryl Hill from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'7 Tremayne Singletary from Milford (Academy) CT, and 6'4 Ryan Williams from Troy (Redemption) NY.  Exodus has 6'2 Jr Knowledge Miller from New York (Park West) NY and 6'8 Rodney Epperson from Troy (Redemption) NY.  Brooklyn Bridge features 5'11 Frosh Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'3 Soph Ramel Bradley from New York (Park West) NY.  Immediately following are the quarterfinals, which begin at 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM on Sunday afternoon, and later in the week the other two quarterfinal games will be played at 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM on Friday, May 18th.  The semi-finals will be at 11:00 AM and 12:30 AM on Saturday, May 19th, and the championship will be on Sunday morning, May 20th, at 11:00 AM.  All games are played at ISA Junior High School in Jamaica, NY and Naclerio will provide us with all the highlights. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2001

So far the list of players who have made early commitments and are ranked among the HOOP SCOOP's top 50 juniors nationally, includes 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL to Memphis, 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC to North Carolina, 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA to Duke, 6'2 Jr Gerry McNamara from Scranton (Bishop Hannan) PA to Syracuse, 6'10 Jr Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI to Michigan State, 6'6 Jr Lester Abrams from Pontiac (Northern) MI to Michigan, 6'4 Jr Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH to North Carolina, 6'3 Jr Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA to Iowa, 6'10 Jr Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL to Duke, 6'3 Jr Mario Moore from Nashville (Antioch) TN to Vanderbilt, and 6'9 Jr Roy Enright from Omaha (Burke) NE to Nebraska.   And now it looks like the list is about to become an even dozen, because Schoolsports.com is reporting that 6'7 Jr Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD has decided to attend Syracuse University.  However, he says he won't make it official until later this month.  “'The main reason was that Syracuse offered me the chance to play right away and be the go-to guy,' says Anthony.  'I haven’t announced anything yet but will probably do it by the end of the month.'”   Anthony picked the Syracuse over North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia Tech.  Anthony, who is best described as a world-class athlete and incredible natural talent, is a legitimate top 20 junior nationally and has the potential to move even higher as his skills catch up with his athleticism and grown.  Did you know that he's grown five inches in the last year?  Assuming that Anthony doesn't change his mind about attending Syracuse, this is a huge feather in the cap of the Syracuse coaching staff.   If you will recall, within the last month the Orangemen also got an early verbal commitment form McNamara, who also is ranked among the top 15 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   At the time we gave Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins most of the credit for getting this one done so early.  However, this time the assistant coach who needs to stand up and take a bow is Troy Weaver, who obviously was able to take advantage of his DC and Maryland connects to get Anthony.   The fact that Anthony will transfer to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall also is interesting.  If you will recall, 6'3 Billy Edelin verbally committed to Syracuse a year ago and, just like with Anthony, hadn't officially enrolled at Oak Hill at the time.  In other words, Steve Smith, who is the head coach at this basketball factory in Virginia, is a legit guy and, if you give him a player, you are assured of getting him back.  Syracuse also is believed to be the heavy favorite for 6'10 Jr Matt Gorman from Watertown (H.S.) NY, who has dramatically improved since we saw him last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp and, as s result, will rank in the top 50-100 range nationally when we update our junior rankings in June.

The HOOP SCOOP has learned that George Mason has signed 6'6 Steve Bonner from North Idaho (JC) ID, who was named a Third Team Junior College All-American a month ago.  The same source also tells us that Bonner is better than 6'2 Darren Tarver from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who signed with George Mason last fall.  And that's saying a lot, because Tarver led Wabash Valley (JC) IL to the National Junior College Tournament Championship in March and was named to the First Team Junior College All-American Team last month.   Bonner was being heavily recruited, but hurt his knee at the beginning of the regional junior college touranment in early March and, as a result, a lot of people, including Oklahoma backed off.   If it weren't for the injury, there is no way George Mason gets Bonner according to several Division I coaches who have seen him play.   Still, George Mason was able to beat Illinois, UTEP, Gonzaga, Providence, and Oklahoma, which recently got back involved.  Bonner is best described as a multi-dimensional athlete out of the Scottie Pippen mold.  In addition to these two junior college All-American's, the Patriots also signed 6'1 Lamar Butler from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, who is still one of the biggest sleepers nationally in the senior class, and this spring landed 6'8 Colin Wyatt from Williamsburg (Jamestown) VA.  So next year George Mason will likely start 6'10 Jesse Young, who is potentially the best player in the league next year, at center, Butler at point guard, Tarver at two guard, Bonner at the 3-spot, and either 6'9 Deon Cooper or 6'7 Jon Larranaga at the power forward spot.  Remember, this was the same team that almost knocked off Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and, if Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga finds the right chemistry, they might be even better next year.   But the George Mason coaching staff is really shooting for the following year, because every player mentioned above is an underclassmen, plus the Patriots are also believed to be the leader for Tarver's twin brother - 6'4 Frosh Derrick Tarver from Howard (JC) TX, who also was named to the Second Team Junior College All-American Team a month ago.  So with this much talent in the program and two years together, anything, like making a NCAA Final Four appearance, is possible.  For years Larranaga has been recognized as one of the hardest working and best recruiting head coaches in the nation, but he also has a reputation for developing great assistant coaches and his current staff, which includes Mike Gillian, Bill Courtney, and Scott Cherry, obviously is second to none.

Tuesday, May 8, 2001

For the second consecutive week we are still catching up on Tuesday after being out of town over the weekend covering a major tournament, but this time we don't seem to be flooded with new signings and commitments.   The most interesting is Cincinnati's signing of 6'0 Teron Barker from Odessa (JC) TX.  We knew the Bearcats were looking for a quick fix to replace Kenny Satterfield, who recently entered his name into the NBA draft, at point guard, but we're not sure he's good enough to do that, despite the fact he was ranked as the #8 point guard in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook last fall.  A lot of college coaches saw Barker at the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS and apparently he didn't play well, because they're telling us he's not good enough to even challenge Steve Logan at point guard spot.  Obviously time will tell, but this could effect how high we rank the Bearcats pre-season next fall.  If  Satterfield had come back, we thought Cincinnati might have been a top five team next season.  We also have confirmed that UAB has gotten a commitment from 6'4 Jeff Collins from Birmingham (Ramsay) AL, who was a sleeper right in their own backyard.  Not only is he a tremendous athlete and excellent outside shooter with deep 3-point shooting range, but he also wasn't expected to make it academically until the last minute.  And the timing couldn't have been better, because right about the time Collins got the necessary test score, the Blazers were losing out in the sweepstakes for 6'5 Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY, who signed with Louisville two weeks ago.  So they just turned their focus onto Collins and getting this one done quickly wasn't too hard, because his mother already works at the school.  This means the Blazers are done recruiting, because earlier this spring they signed three quality junior college players in 5'10 Eric Bush from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'5 Antonae Roberson from San Jose City (JC) CA, and 6'8 Cedric Davis from Sinclair (JC) OH.   Roberson and Bush are especially noteworthy, because they both were ranked by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook last fall.  Bush also was regarded by many as the #2 ranked point guard in the junior college ranks behind 6'0 Marcus Banks from Dixie (JC) UT and Roberson was one of the top five junior college players in California last season.  

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 5'11 John Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX has picked Baylor over Tulane and Connecticut.  So the Bears are done recruiting, because last fall they brought in a class, which included 6'9 Lawrence Roberts from Houston (Lamar) TX, 6'3 Kenny Henry from Cochise (JC) AZ, 6'3 Dandrick Jones from Dallas (Kimball) TX, and 6'3 Kenny Taylor from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, that was ranked #32 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Johnson also has confirmed that Duquense something he thought would happen a week ago. Yes, 6'11 Simplece N'Joya from Dobbs The Masters School) NY, who signed with the UNLV last fall, has been released from his National Letter-of-Intent, and, instead has signed with Duquesne.  Apparently the assistant coach who signed N'Joya at UNLV has also re-surfaced at Duquesne in a similar position.  Duquesne, as expected, also has signed 6'2 Aly Samabaly from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH and Wofford has landed 6'0 Adrian Borders from Lilburn (Beckmar) GA.  We also have finally confirmed that Valparaiso has a National Letter-of-Intent in hand from 6'5 Ali Berdiel at Gary (Andrean) IN.  If you will recall, we reported several weeks ago that Berdiel had signed with Valparaiso, but then Reggie Tisdale of Indiana Basketball News informed us that we had jumped the gun.  Actually all this is about being technically correct, because we had heard all along that the Valparaiso coaching staff had placed Berdiel at Andrean High School and, as a result, we thought the outcome was never really in doubt. We also understand that  Bobby Gonzalez has signed an extension on his contract at Manhattan and that the Jaspers are now the among the leaders for 6'7 Charus Moore from Worcester (Academy) MA.  Moore isn't the high profile type of recruit that Gonzalez is used to getting at Manhattan, but he is a mid-major sleeper who is aggressive on the boards and capable of scoring both inside and outside.   Louisville has released 6'5 LeRoy Davis from Southern Union (JC) AL.  Not only does this allow Davis the time he needs to look for another school, but it also frees up a scholarship for 6'9 Terry Licorish from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who still is attempting to make the necessary score on the SAT to become eligible to play as a college freshman next year.  It also appears that Louisville is already making a strong push for 6'4 Frosh Antwain Barbour from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who was named the MVP in the National Junior College Tournament with 21 points, including 5-6 3-pointers, in the championship game.  We also have confirmed that Murray State has signed 6'1 Antonio Henderson from Lincolnton (JC) GA.  He joins two other junior college players the Racers signed earlier this spring in 6'8 James Singleton from Pearl River (JC) MS and 6'1 Rashard Harris from Atlanta Metro (JC) GA.  Harris, who was named Junior College All-American Honorable Mention in April, and Henderson played in the same backcourt together at Atlanta Metro (JC) GA during the 1999-2000 season.  However, last year Henderson transferred to Lincolnton (JC) GA, where he sat out and concentrated on his academics.

We also continue to hear that North Carolina is the favorite for 6'8 Jr Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'6 Jr Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY and, if that happens, they could be on the verge of an incredible recruiting class.  And that's saying a lot when you remember that Matt Doherty and his staff have only been on the job less than a year.  If you will recall, the Tar Heels have already gotten early verbal commitments from 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC and 6'5 Jr Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH and they also are still one of the favorites for 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC.  We still believe Duke is the favorite for Randolph, but, if the Tar Heels pull this off, that would be enough to tip the balance away from the Blue Devils in terms of who likely will have the #1 ranked recruiting class next fall.  Already the Blue Devils have early verbal commitments from 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'10 Jr Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, and 6'7 Jr Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA and they are believed to be the leader for Randolph and 6'1 Jr Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL and among the leaders for 6'10 Jr Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  And if all that happens, it would make Duke almost impossible to beat.  Let's take a closer look using our rating system.  Randolph is a top five player in his class nation.  So he is worth 10 points.  Dockery ranks among our top 10 nationally.  So he is worth nine points.  Redick and Williams check in at #11 and #12 in the class nationally.  So technically they are both worth eight points, but we will assign one an extra point to one of them since they are both on the borderline of being ranked among the top 10.  Thompson is a legitimate top 30 junior and Melchionni checks in the top 75 range.   So they are worth eight  and four points apiece.  So with the best case scenario Duke would have 10+9+9+8+8+4=48 points and that would be with Melchionni paying his own way as a walk-on the first year.  Remember, the NCAA allows you to sign a maximum of only five players one year and only eight players over two years.   However, let's say Randolph doesn't go to Duke, but they do get Dockery and Williams.  Then, their recruiting class would be worth 10 points less.  Instead, let's say Randolph, who is worth 10 points, picks North Carolina.  Felton is ranked among our top 10 nationally.  So he's worth nine points.  Fraser is ranked among the top 20 nationally.  So he's worth eight points.  Sumpter and McCants and Sumpter also would get eight points apiece, because they're in the 20-40 range nationally.  And if all this fall into place, 10+9+8+8+8=45.  In other words, both schools are going to have a great class regardless of whether they land Randolph.   However, Randolph will likely decide who has the #1 class, unless something unforeseen happens, like Randolph goes pro right out of high school, or somebody unforeseen at the present time cleans up in recruiting next year. 

We still aren't completely done with our Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia Report, but the only changes I expect to make are minor.  So we are going ahead and publishing what we feel is our most comprehensive report yet on this area.  It includes our six five-man all-area teams regardless of class and position and comments about the top players in each class, as well as our rankings of the top 160 seniors, top 93 juniors, top 78 sophomores, top 44 freshmen, top 28 8th graders, top eight 7th graders, and three 6th graders all ranked in order, which can be gotten by clicking on The HOOP SCOOP Ranks 'Em:  The Top Prep Player in Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia.  Especially interesting is the fact that it is widely assumed that the senior class in the Washington, DC area is down and that the sophomore class is the strongest in years both the Washington, DC area and Virginia.  However, only three players - 6'7 Soph Omari Isreal from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 6'4 Soph Ricky Lucas from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and 6'0 Frosh Eric Price from Washington (Gonzaga) DC - in those two classes are included among the top 30 players on our all-area teams.  Sure, none of the other freshmen and sophomores have stepped up and established their national reputations yet.  But also, if you include all outstanding the players from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, the Hampton Roads area, and the 5th year players who don't count in our rankings, the area is absolutely loaded!  

Saturday, May 5, 2001, Sunday, May 6, 2001, and Monday, May 7, 2001

In previous years we've pointed out that the Spiece Run'N Slam All-Star Classic is well on its way towards replacing the Indiana State Tournament as the premier basketball event in the state of Indiana.  We also made it a point to say the event is so good that I annually have to miss the Kentucky Derby to attend (I live in Louisville, KY and I have gone to the Derby most of my life).   But this year, with the new Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, IN, tournament director Bill Hensley has taken the event to another level.  We're talking about an incredible 8-court facility, which, along with the sports complex at Disney World in Orlando, FL, has to be the best place to watch a high school basketball tournament anywhere.  Sure, there is more competition than in the past nationally for teams and players.  But, if you are a player and you want to get seen on the first Saturday in May, which is one of the most important times of the year in terms of establishing your reputation heading into the Memorial Day Weekend three weeks from now and the summer camp season, this is the place to be.  Don't believe it?  Well, among those in attendance were Van Coleman and all his guys from Future Stars; the legendary Tom Konchalski of the HSBI Report; Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report and All-Star Sports; Dave Benezra of Recruiting USA, Rick Ball; who is the foremost authority on junior college players in the nation; Dave Telep, who is formerly of Rivals.com and soon to in charge of a new on-line internet recruiting web site; Reggie Tisdale, the Editor and Publisher of Indiana Basketball News; and Chris Johnson and myself for the HOOP SCOOP.   As a matter of fact, the only major recruiting and scouting service gurus who were missing were Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, who was running his own event; Brick Oettinger of the Prep Stars, the Recruiter's Handbook, and CNN/SI; and Stephen Wacaser, who currently is listed as missing in action.   So what better time to take your game to another level and establish yourself as one of the best players in the nation, which is something somebody does seems to do every year (i.e. Caron Butler  and Rashard Lewis in 1998)?  This year the most outstanding player was 6'0 Jr Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who now has to be ranked among the top 10 or 15 juniors by the HOOP SCOOP. Brown simply picked up where he left off when we saw him two weeks ago in the Kentucky Hoopstars Classic in Louisville, KY.  He also had the best individual performance of the entire tournament when he had six 3-pointers and 20 points against St. Louis Gameface in a 8:00 AM round of 16 game on Saturday morning.   And that was just in the first quarter, as Brown finished with 38 points for the game.  However, he didn't put up big numbers at the expense of his teammates.   Brown is a streaky shooter, but he's also jet-quick, makes good decisions, and has excellent handling and passing skills.  Also ranked among of our top six players in the tournament were 6'4 Jr Jimmy McKinney from St. Louis (Vashon) MO, 6'9 Jr DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'11 Soph David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV, 6'3 Jr Chris Rodgers from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'2 Jr Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA.   However, the play of these elite players was not the big story.  Instead, the story was the emergence of players without big reputations, like 6'7 Jr Greg Brunner from Charles City (H.S.) IA, who, along with Horner, led Martin Brothers Select  to a 48-40 victory in the championship game in the Seniors-To-Be Division.   Brunner had 20 points in the championship game, but even more important were the intensity and toughness he provided for his team throughout the tournament.  Sure, you can argue that Brunner isn't tall enough to be a power forward at the college level and he doesn't shoot it well and doesn't appear to be quick enough to play out on the perimeter.  But it doesn't matter, because his team usually wins and he's a big reason why.  As a result, he was our choice for tournament MVP and he legitimately has to rank among our top 75 nationally.  Also firmly establishing their national reputations in this tournament were 6'7 Jr Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominican) WI, 6'9 Jr Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX, 6'9 Jr Derrick Grubb from Colleyville (Heritage) TX, 6'7 Jr Robert Frazier from Denver (Manual) CO, 6'8 Jr Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 6'9 Jr James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL, 6'8 Jr Dan Oppland from St. Louis (Whitefield) MO, 6'11 Jr Steve Cobbley from Pocatello (Highland) ID, 6'8 Jr Nicholas Kern from St. Louis (Vashon) MO, 6'1 Jr Derrick Finn from Newbergh Castle) IN, and 6'9 Jr Matt Kiefer from Evansville (Mater Dei) IN, all of whom should be ranked among the top 100 juniors nationally and/or have top 100 potential.  Nixon is a multi-dimensional athlete who can play any position on the court at this level, because he can block shots, rebound, beat you off the dribble with his quickness, handle, pass, and shoot the three.   He isn't as big as Antoine Walker was at the same stage, his court demeanor and style of play reminds me of Walker's.  I also am intrigued by the fact that a lot people from Wisconson are overlooking this guy.  As a result, we went back and watched Nixon play several more times.  And the last time he was the guy who brought the ball up the court and started the offense.  He also is a big-time athlete and plays with a lot of intensity.  So write him down as one of the biggest sleepers in the class, as well as a legitimate top 50 junior nationally.  Wilson isn't as athletic as Luke Axtell, but that's the best comparison.  Not only does Wilson have long arms, athleticism, and an excellent 3-point shooting touch, but he also is extremely mobile and versatile for somebody his size.  He also rebounds well for size, which is why he too is a legitimate top 100 junior.  Normally we don't like big slow white none athletic big guys, but the more you watch Grubb, the more you realize he's an exception to the rule.  Not only is he really skilled, but he has great hands, excellent passing skills, and overpowering moves when he gets the ball inside.   As a result, we have to rank him among our top 150 nationally in the junior class and he has the potential to move much higher, especially if he grows another inch or two and/or becomes a little more mobile.  Frazier is a big time athlete with long arms, quick hands, and the ability to get his shot against anybody.  However, this wing foward needs to develop more consistency, get stronger and, at times, play more under control.  As a result, ranking Frazier among our top 150 juniors nationally is safe right now, but he might explode this summer.  And, if he does, remember where you heard about him first!  Rowley is already a physical specimen with mobility and athleticism, but, once again, the key here is potential, because he is young for his class and is expected to grow several more inches.  Rowley also was tough to stop around the basket and, as a result, was the big reason why the Indianapolis Warriors advanced to a final eight finish.  Augustine didn't show up until the playoffs, but we really liked this long armed mobile white kid who rebounds, scores inside and passes extremely well from the high post.  Is he top 100 nationally?  Well, that was one of our topics of debate on Sunday at lunch.  If he's not, it's close!  And it may be a lock, if he can go out and hit the 3-point shot consistently.  And, if he can, Scott Padgett comparisons are in order.  Just like Padgett, he would be able to play the three spot offensively, but defensively he would have problems matching up against smaller and quicker wing players.  Oppland doesn't pass the lock test, but he is the ultimate blue collar warrior, as he scores inside and usually beats you with his hardnosed work ethic.  He also is stronger and quicker than he looks, plus he has a great nose for the ball.  Still, it came as somewhat of a surprise that Oppland, who reminds us a of poor man's David Lee, led St. Louis Gateway to a final four finish in the 17-Under Division and was the second leading scorer in the tournament behind Brown with 139 points in six games.  Cobbley is a big white kid with surprising quickness and athleticism.  He also plays hard, scores around the basket, blocks shots, and is an excellent rebounder.  However, it is his aggressivness and skills that make us think he should be ranked among the top 100 juniors nationally.   Make no mistake about it, Kern is a four who can step out and shoot the three.   As a result, this athletic power forward, who also is very effective scoring around the basket and on the boards, has to be ranked among our top 100 nationally.  Finn and Kiefer both have to make this list after leading Warrick County to into the championship game of the 17-Under Division.  They also finished ranked among the top 10 in scoring in the tournament (Finn was sixth with 121 points and Kiefer with 114 points in eight games).  Kiefer needs to get bigger and stronger, but is still is very effective inside at this level, because he likes to compete, has good hands, and has a good nose to the ball.  He also can go out on the perimeter where he shoots the 3-pointers and puts the ball on the floor.  Finn is not a lashy point guard.   Instead, he just gets the job done, because he is quick off the dribble, an excellent ball handler and passer, excellent 3-point shooter, and terrific competitor.   Another player who might fall into this category is 6'5 Jr Nik Caner-Medley from Portland (Deering) ME, who apparently played extremely well for the Pump'N Run Team on Saturday when we were watching another game.  As a matter of fact, one person who saw the game told us that Caner-Medley was one of the best players in the entire tournament.  However, his numbers (32 points in five games) reflect more what I saw - a solid role player on a good team.  Caner-Medley is a big-time athlete, but the word he get is that he needs more of uptempo setting to show what he's capable of doing.  Also establishing their national reputations in the Juniors-To-Be and Sophomores-To-be Divisions were  6'10 Soph Stefan Zimmerman from Orem (Mountain View) UT, 6'11 Soph Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, 5'8 Soph Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 5'10 Frosh Paul Paradoski from St. Louis (Vianney) MO, and 6'8 Luke Zeiller from Washington (Middle) IN, who is only in 8th grade.  Zimmerman isn't as good a shot blocker, but otherwise he reminds us of Joel Pryzbilla.  Zimmerman was unstoppable when we saw him score 34 points in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday night.  Not only does he have great post moves, an incredible wing span, soft hands, and a nice touch from 15-feet, but he's also surprisingly mobile for somebody so big and so young.  Butch has surpringly short arms for somebody his size, but does have a great feel for the game and, as a result, is already a great passer.  He also has a nice touch, good moves to the basket, and plays hard, plus even more growth is expected and he's already really quick and athletic.  In other words, just like with Zimmerman, the sky is the limit for Butch.  But the guy with the most potential is Zeiller and he's pretty good right now for somebody who is only 13 years old and only supposed to be in the 7th grade.  Yes, we have confirmed that Zeiller is a genius and, as a result, his parents pushed him ahead in school a year.  In other words, we're talking about a guy who likely will be 7'3 or 7'4 and we know for a fact he's already drawing big time looks.  As a matter of fact, he's already been to the University of Iowa on an unofficial visit.  Actually, this comes as no surprise, because he has family that  lives in Iowa.  Zeiller used his soft touch inside and a nice looking hook shot to score 12 points in the Sophomores-To-Be Championship Game.    Lavender is extremely small, but this small quick point guard was instrumental in leading All-Ohio Red into the semi-finals, as he scored 131 points in seven games and was the leading scorer in the Juniors-To-Be Division.  Paradoski is the point guard who led the St. Louis Gateway team into the finals of the Sophomore-To-Be Division.  He's excellent at breaking the double team, has good handling and passing skills, and is a good 3-point range.  But it's his savvy, and speed and quickness, and thin build that reminds us of Luke Ridnour at the same stage.   We also have to mention Paradoski' teammate - 6'6 Soph Luke Meyer from Washington (St. Francis Borgia) MO - because he had 19 points in the championship game and was the leading scorer among players in the Sophomores-To-Be Division in the Tournament.  Another important story involves the Spiece program, whose teams won both the Juniors-To-Be and Sophomores-To-Be Divisions.  In the younger age group it wasn't even close, as the Spiece Top Prospect knocked off the St. Louis Gateway in the championship game, 75-48, and 6'5 Frosh Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN showed by he is one of the top freshmen in the nation.  Sure, Vaden, who had 24 points in the championship game, might not grow, but physical speciemen's like this who are mobile enough and skilled enough to play the wing forward spot are few and far between.  It was very close in the Juniors-To-Be Division, as the Spiece Central Stars, finally prevailed, 73-67, against All Ohio Red.  The best player throughout most of the tournament for the Spiece team was 6'6 Soph Parnell Smith from Indianapolis (Pike) IN.  But the two players who came up big in the championship game were 6'5 Soph Austin Montgomery from Indianaplis (Perry Meridian) IN and 6'2 Soph Corey Johnson from Anderson (Highlands) IN, who combined for 34 points.  Lavander, who finished with 26 points, including 5 3-pointers, was the leading scorer for All-Ohio Red. We also have to mention 6'4 Soph Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who has emerged as the #2 sophomore in the state of Illinois.  Not only was the second leading scorer in the Juniors-To-Be Division with 125 points, but he also impressed us with his explosivness, 3-point shooting, and upper body.  A special thanks Bill Hensley and all the people connected with the Spiece Run'N Slam All-Star Classic who made this an extremely easy and enjoyable tournament to cover.

Friday, May 4, 2001

All systems are not go on the HOOP SCOOP All-American Premiere.  As a matter of fact, the final decision to pull the pug was made this afternoon.  In other words, there will be no camp in Memphis, May 18th-20th.  The decision had to be made due to logistical problems and the inability on our part to get the financial backing from several important sponsors that we needed to make this a first class event.  However, we haven't given up on the idea of having a superstar oriented event without the involvement of either of the two major shoe companies (NIKE and adidas) in the future.  Tentatively we are talking about rescheduling the event at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA sometime in August.  But won't happen unless we have the necessary sponsorship, are able to fly most of the players from around the nation to Southern California, and have all the logistical things, like referees, uniforms, and transportation that are crucial to running an organized camp, lined before we ever make our intentions known publicly known.   And just for the record, if anybody involved wants to leak specifics about the camp in advance of an official announcement, that will be enough to ensure that I stay out of the camp business for goodt.  If you will recall, Dave Telep of Rivals.com listed the HOOP SCOOP All-American Premiere on his event calender in February when the camp was still in the planning stages.  Not only did he scoop us on our own camp, but he also speeded up the process and, as a result, forced us to make an announcement before we had everything in place.  And to be honest we still don't have everything in place.  I do want to thank Dinos Trigonis for all of his effort and hard work.  I also still believe that Trigonis could have made this one of the top events of the entire year, but if the HOOP SCOOP name is going be associated with it, I am not willing to wing it and see what happens at the last minutes.  

Several days ago we provided you with a preview of the 8th Annual Spiece Run & Slam Basketball Tournament at Ft. Wayne, IN this weekend.  However, that's not the only event that is being held this weekend.  Mike Duncan is having an adidas sponsored event (the Cleveland Hoop Challenge) in Cleveland, OH, NIKE is sponsoring the Howard Pulley Tournament in Minneapolis, MN; and the Hoop Group and Bob Gibbons are hosting the Southern Invitational at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.  We don't have any additional information about the first two events, but Jim Woods faxed as a schedule several days ago for the Southern Invitational, which will feature 6'9 Jr Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL  and 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, both of whom rank among our top five players nationally.  Randolph will be playing for the Raleigh Heat and Stoudemire will be playing for the Tallahassee Wildcats.  But the best team in the tournament promises to be Boo Williams, which features 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Spring Cave) VA, 6'1 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'10 Soph Jermaine Bell from Rochester (Franklin) NY, and 6'9 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA.  Sure, Brown signed with Virginia last fall, but he is  young for his class and he still hasn't made the necessary score to get into Virginia next fall.  So rumor has it that he may be going to prep school at Fork Union (Military) VA or Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Also, in the tournament, but not making it academically yet is 6'9 Anthony Richardson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC.  As a result, it appears this Florida State signee who reminds us DerMarr Johnson will also likely go the prep school route.   Games will tip-off in all three divisions (the 17-Under, 16-Under, and 15-Under) at 6:30 PM tonight and will run from 9:30 AM until 10:00 PM tomorrow night.  Then, the playoffs will begin on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM.  The championship for the 15-under Division will tip-off at 12:45 PM and the championship games for the 16-Under and 17-Under Divisions will both be played 2:00 PM.  In the 17-Under Division Boo Williams, Upstate Dragons (NY), Del Valley Hoops, and Louden County will be in Pool A.  Pool B will include the Virginia Squires, Virginia Cobras, National Christian Academy, and Big Ballers, Inc.  Pool C features the Tallahassee Wildcats, Charlotte Nets, Central Virginia, and Baltimore Bombers.  Pool D includes the Raleigh Heat, Blue Ridge Wildcats, New Jersey Celtics, and Marietta Heat.  Pool E has the Team Carolina (SC), Kensington Tigers, Sam Rines All-Stars, and Boo Williams/Beckwith.  Pool F features the Durham Disciples, Richmond Gold I, Atlanta Prep Stars, and PG Jaguars.  Baltimore Select, Raleigh's Finest, Leesburg Sun, and Richmond Gold II are in Pool G.  Pool H has UCBA (South Carolina), Championship Sports, Carolina Hurricanes, and DC Vipers. 

This is not confirmed, but we have an excellent source who tells us that University of Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs will be named the new head coach at George Washington and it could happen as soon as today.  Talk about a perfect fit!  Hobbs is one of the best recruiters in the nation, as well as one of the bright young guys in the business.  As a result, he's turned down several jobs in the last year.  However, coaching in the tough Atlantic-10 Conference at a great school like GW in Washington, DC appears to be the perfect opportunity for Hobbs.   We also have heard that Xavier assistant Mark Schmidt is getting the Robert Morris job and this too is a great hire, because Schmidt was one of the main reasons why Xavier has recruited so well in years.  And he has a potential gold mine right in his backyard, because the Five-Star Basketball Camp is run at Robert Morris during the entire month of July.  The suspense is finally over regarding University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith signing his new long-term contract.  He did so several days ago, but it still is not official until the school president, Charles Wethington, who has been out of time this week, puts his name on the dotted line.  Obviously this will help Kentucky's recruiting in the future, but right now the Wildcats appear to be well stocked at every position.  As a result, we think Kentucky should be one of the teams to beat in college basketball next year and, as a result, we would be surprised if Smith leaves for a NBA job, unless Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown retires or moves into a front office job.  It could happen in June, if the 76ers win the NBA Championship, or it could happen in a year or two.  If you will recall, Smith developed a close relationship with Brown when they coached the Olympic Team last summer.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi is being mentioned for the Butler job.  At first this may comes as a surprise, but Biancardi has been laying the groundwork to steal a player or two out of Indiana's excellent junior class and he's is widely regarded as one of the bright young coaches in the business.  As a result, it is only a matter of time, before Biancardi finds the right job.  However, the guy who may have the inside track is Butler assistant coach Todd Lickliter, because it appears the players on the team are pushing him. 

Thursday, May 3, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Thad Matta will get the Xavier job this afternoon and when that happens, Butler will have to hire a new head coach for the second time in a year.   If you will recall, Matta beat out Arizona assistant coach Jay John for the job a year ago primarily because he had the support of all the young players that he had recruited into the program.  This is ironic, because John, who was an assistant coach at Butler during the first eight years of the Barry Collier era, was the guy who recruited every player who has graduated from Butler in the last four years.  In other words, he was still impacting the program four years after he left.   John also was the point man when it came to recruiting and building the program.   Prior to when Collier arrived in the spring of 1989, the previous head coach Joe Sexson had a mediocre 132-171 overall record during 11 years.  Collier, who also was at Butler for 11 seasons, was much more successful, as he posted an impressive 196-132 record.  Butler also has been to post season play during each of the last five years, including an upset against Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament two months ago and a year ago they nearly knocked off Florida in the NCAA First Round.  And the key was laying a strong foundation and recruiting the right players.   John also has been successful at getting his man at Oregon and Arizona.  If you will recall, he helped Ernie Kent lay the foundation at Oregon when he got Alex Scales, who was the Ducks best player when he graduated a year ago, and during the last three years he has used his Indiana ties to get Jason Gardner and Luke Recker both to go to Arizona.  The Wildcats also were among the finalists for Jared Jeffries.  John, who is regarded by the HOOP SCOOP as one of the top five assistant coaches in the business, also has a tremendous basketball mind and is one of the most legitimate guys in the business.  As a result, we think John is the perfect fit at Butler.  Another coach who will be effected by Matta getting the Xavier job is UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery, who, along with Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty, were the finalists for the job.  Instead, McCaffery may strike gold and still get the George Washington job. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was at today's press conference, which was held by 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA and, as expected, Walsh picked the University of Florida.  Rubin also tells us that 6'6 Rashad Bell from Fresh Meadows (St. Francis Prep) NY has signed with  Boston University.  New Hamphire has landed 5'11 Roland Williams from Niceville (Rocky Bayou) FL and 6'2 Ronnie Dennis from Abbeville (H.S.) AL.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson informs us that 6'9 Rafeal Berumen from L.A. City (JC) CA has signed with Miami-FL.   If you will recall, Berumen, who originally signed with New Mexico, is a physical specimen inside.  He also was one of the top junior college players in California this year.  Mississippi State has signed 6'10 Michael Ignerski from Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK.  Ignerski orginially signed with Georgia State a year ago and was placed at Bacone (JC) OK by Georgia State.  However, this native of Poland ended up playing this year at Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK.  Johnson also tells us that new Ohio University head coach Tim O'Shea has bagged his first recruit - 6'1 Zack Kiekow from Osseo (H.S.) MN.  He picked Ohio University over Central Michigan.  Johnson also has confirmed that 6'7 Kendrick Brown from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, who signed with LSU last fall, has signed with agent and, as a result, will forfeit his college eligibility.  This is not good news for the Tigers, because Brown was the star player in what was the #2-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to the HOOP SCOOP.  It looks like 6'3 Dwayne Rogers from Munfordville (Hart County) KY, who is ranked #18 in the senior class in our latest Kentucky Report, has signed with Kentucky Wesleyan.  However, we have not confirmed whether 6'2 Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, who is ranked as the #3 senior in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for Western Kentucky.  We were informed yesterday that a press conference was scheduled for today. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2001

The University of Virginia didn't get 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who recently announced that he would by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA draft.  So the Cavaliers coaching staff wasted no time going to Plan B and they have landed 6'10 Nick Vander Laan, who is transferring from California.  This gives Virginia not one, but two impact players who will be waiting in the wings next year.  If you will recall, a month ago Todd Billet transferred from Rutgers to Virginia.  And the timing is perfect, because Vander Laan, who was named to the All-Rookie Team in the Pacific-10 as a freshman two years ago, and Billet, who was a third team All-Big East Selection this past season, both will become eligible when the great Class of 1999, which included Travis Watson, Roger Mason, and Majestic Mapp, reaches maturity during their senior year in college.  Add a year of experience to the top 10 ranked recruiting class, which included 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'3 Jermaine Harper from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'8 Jason Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'2 Keith Jenifer from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, that the Cavaliers signed last fall and Virginia should be one of the teams to beat in college basketball when the 2002-03 season roles around.  The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'2 Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and he expected to sign with Western Kentucky.  This is absolutely huge for the Hilltoppers, because Sparks is ranked as the #3 senior in the state in Larry Kihnley's updated Kentucky Report, which was published yesterday.  This also is important for Western Kentucky head coach Dennis Felton, because the Hilltoppers have nearly everybody back from a team that lost to Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and was a legitimate top 30 team at the end of the last season.  Sparks is best described as a flashy athletic combo guard who can beat most point guards off the dribble and shoot the lights out from 3-point land.  So we expect Sparks to fill the void at the 2-guard spot next year that will created by the graduation of 6'4 Nashon McPherson.  However, down the road we expect Sparks to emerge into the team leader, as well as the point guard who runs the show. 

It's not official yet, but our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us the word has finally gotten out about 6'1 Jr Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH picking Notre Dame over Ohio State and Dayton.  Really it was never more than a two-horse race and the deciding factor was Ohio State's commitment to 6'1 Brandon Fuss-Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, who signed with the Buckeyes last fall.  In case you don't know what we're talking about, Ohio State promised Fuss-Cheatham a year ago  when they landed him that they wouldn't recruit another point guard in the class behind him.  They still recruited Quinn, but told him he would have to red-shirt his first year.  Actually we thought that was a pretty good idea, because the one thing Quinn is lacking is size.  However, Quinn wanted to go where he can step in and play right away and apparently the Irish coaching staff convinced Quinn that he and 6'1 Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who signed with Notre Dame last fall, would be able to play together in the same backcourt next year.  This comes as no surprise, because we reported last week that 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA was on the verge of picking the University of Florida.  But Johnson is telling us that it will happen tomorrow.  And Walsh should fit right in, because he's an athletic white kid who thrives in an uptempo style.  He's also a great outside shooter and, just like Teddy Dupay and Brett Nelson, he's never seen a shot he didn't like.  Johnson was at the NIKE Super Eight Showdown in Columbus, OH over the weekend and he has some interesting things to report.  First, the Family beat Cleveland Basketball Club, 44-28, in the championship game.  Second, 6'4 Jr Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI, who was the tournament MVP, his top three schools in order - Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michgian.   Billings also said he likes Purdue and Iowa.  Third, 6'6 Jr Lester Abrams from Pontiac (Northern) MI told Johnson that he still favors Michigan, which is where he committed last fall, but is puzzled by the fact that nobody on the new coaching staff went to see him during the April evaluation period.  So he still is open to other schools, such as Michigan State, Iowa State, Georgetown, Purdue, Indiana, Rutgers, and Stanford.  Fourth, 6'9 Jr Graham Brown from Mio (H.S.) MI, who also made the all-tournament and is one of the fastest rising players in Michigan, told Johnson that Michigan, Central Michigan, Harvard, Pennsyvlania, Marquette, Bowling Green, and New Mexico State are all on his list.

We are getting ready to attend the 8th Annual Spiece Run & Slam Basketball Tournament at Ft. Wayne, IN this weekend and once again it promises to be one of the premier events in the nation.  It also will be played in the one of the premier facilities in the nation.  We're talking about the new Spiece Fitness Center, which has eight full size basketball courts and three smaller courts with adjustable goals.  This should make covering the Seniors-To-Be Division easier than ever, because eight of the 12 games that will be going on at any one time in that division will be played under the same roof.  Games will start at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 4th, and Tournament director Bill Hensley has lined up 48 teams in the Seniors-To-Be Division, 32 teams in the Juniors-To-Be Division, and 24 Teams in the Sophomores-To-Be Division.  Each team plays 3 pool games within their division and all teams advance to a single eliminination tournament.   In the Seniors-To-Be Division will include the Spiece Pistols, Minmesota Rebound, Waterloo Wildcats, and Long Island Roadrunners in Pool 1.  Pool 2 will include the L.A. Rockfish, Milwaukee Soldiers, North Texas Rice Owls, and Grand Rapids Storm.   Pool 3 has Pump'N'Run, Central Hoyas, Spiece North Stars, and Courthouse Elite.   Bloomington Red, Team Ohio, Cincinnati AAU Black, and Team Texas Select are in Pool 4.  Pool 5 includes Summit City Raptors, Kentucky Hoops Stars Elite, and Warrick County Wildcats.  Pool 6 has Los Angeles Paladins, Tiffany's, The Hoop, and the Friends of Hoop White.  Pool 7 includes 303 Finest, Cincinnati AAU Red, Friends of Hoop Black, and Chappell Sports.  The Indy Warriors, Inner City Players, St. Louis Mustangs, and Jersey City Heat are in Pool 8.  Pool 9 has Martin Brothers Select, Illinois Gold, Randolph Boys Club, and Gateway Basketball.  Pool 10 includes Wisconsin All-Stars, Ohio Valley, All Ohio Red, and Team Texas White.  Cincy AAU White, Salt Lake Metro, S.Y.F. Players, and Kentucky Hoop Stars Gold are in Pool 11.   Pool 12 has NW Indiana Players, St. Louis Gameface, Illinois Warriors, and Milwaukee Warriors.  Everybody will get a game on Friday night, a game on Saturday morning, and a game on Saturday afternoon.  Then, the first round and second rounds of the playoffs in the Seniors-To-Be Division be at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.  Then, the third round will tip-off at 8:00 AM on Sunday morning, followed by the quarterfinals at 11:00 AM, the semi-finals at 2:00 PM, and the championship at 3:30 PM.  We aren't going to give you a pool-by-pool summary of the teams are in the Juniors-To-Be and Sophmores-To-Be Divisions, but we will give you the playoffs times.  The first round and second rounds for both divisions will be Saturday night at 6:30 PM and 9:30 PM.   The third round is scheduled for Sunday morning at 9:30 PM.  The quarterfinals will tip-off at 12:30 PM, the semi-finals will be at 2:00 PM, and the championship game will be 3:30 PM.  Our focus will be primarily on the Sophomores-To-Be and once again we are hoping to get a major jump on seeing some of the great players of the future.   Remember, a year ago in this tournament, we got our first look at 6'10 Soph Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozne) TX, who has emerged as the #2 sophomore in the nation.  If you will recall, Perkins scored 30-plus points in the championship game in the Sophomores-To-Be Division.

Tuesday, May 1, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Chris Wyatt from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA has signed with Albany, 5'10 Chaz Carr from Manchester (H.S.) CT has signed with Boston University, and 6'5 John Reimold, who was one of the top freshmen in the Metro Atlantic Conference last season, is transferring to Bowling Green.  Speaking of Bowling Green, we are now hearing Dan Dakich's name being mentioned in connection with Xavier job.  However, the three names we're hearing the most are UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery, Akron head coach Dan Hipsher, and Butler head coach Thad Matta.   Our chouce would be Matta.  Remember, a year ago he took over a program where the cupboard was full at Butler and guided them to a first round upset against Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  And now the situation is similar at Xavier, as everybody of note, except Maurice McAfee, will be back next year.  Matta, along with Arizona assistant coach Jay John, also helped build the Butler program during the Barry Collier era and, if Matta should leave, we think John would be the obvious candidate for the Butler job.   As a matter of fact, John was one of the two finalists when Matta got the Butler job a year ago.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Junior Amos from Connors State (JC) OK has signed with Hartford.  This is important, because Amos, who is strong, skilled and, an effective scorer inside, will provide the inside presence head coach Larry Harrison needs next year.  Amos also is one of the finishing touches on the recruiting classes that already includes 6'1 Sean Swan from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'9 Trevor Goode from Virginia Beach (Cape Henry) VA, and 6'1 Charles Ford from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Add 6'7 Deon Saunders, who is now sitting out after transferring from American University, and Hartford should be one of the most improved teams in college basketball next year. But the icing on the cake would be is they got 6'8 Chaz Briggs from Wabash Valley (JC) IL.   Right now the competition is West Virginia, Colorado, and Rhode Island, but if the Hawks do get Briggs and all the recruits make it academically, 20-plus wins wouldn't be out of the question next year. 

It looks like DePaul head coach Pat Kennedy finally got the 2-guard he was looking for yesterday when the Blue Demons signed 6'1 Marlon Brooks from Lincoln (JC) IL.  If you will recall, DePaul's first choice was 6'2 Marcus Hatten from Tallahassee (JC) FL, but he signed with St. John's a week ago.  Brooks is small for the 2-guard spot at only 6'1, but he is expected to step in and start from day one and fill a role comparable to that former DePaul 2-guard Willie Coleman.  DePaul already had signed five players last fall in 6'7 Quemont Greer from Homestead (Berkshire) FL, 6'4 Levar Seals from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL, 6'8 Sam Hoskin from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, 6'7 Kenny Adeleke from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and 6'4 Drake Diener from Fond du Lac (Goodrich) WI and they had a verbal commitment from 6'11 Eddy Curry from Thornwood (South Holland) IL.  However, Curry has since announced that he will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA draft and Adeleke has been released from his scholarship and is transferring to Hofstra, where he will either sit out next year or go the prep school route.  We also have confirmed that 7'0 Uche Okafor from Southern Idaho (JC) ID has signed with Missouri and 7'0 Moustapha Diagne from Trinity Valley (JC)  TX has gone to New Mexico.  So have 6'7 Cody Payne from Collin (JC) TX and 6'2 Mark Walters from Albuquerque (Highland) NM.  The University of Oregon has gotten 6'11 Ian Crosswhite from Castle Cras, Australia, who is the top center on the 19-Under Australian national team.  N.C.  State has landed its fifth and final commitment in 6'7 Illia Evtimov from Winston-Salem (Bishop McGuinnes) NC.  The two players - 6'10 Jamal Holden from Westark (JC) AR and 6'6 Billy Pharis from Westark (JC) MI - who signed with Texas Texas last fall, but who have gotten out of their National Letters-of-Intent,  both have signed with other schools.   Pharis is heading to SMU and Holden has picked UNLV, where he will replace 6'11 Simplece N'Joya from Dobbs The Masters School) NY, who signed with the Runnin' Rebels last fall, but he has decided to transfer after Max Good was not retained at the end of the season.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that he expects N'Joya to transfer to Duquesne, but right now that his unconfirmed.   Johnson also believes that 6'2 Aly Samabaly from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH is one the verge of signing with Duquesne.  Auburn has landed 6'4 Derrick Bird from Schoolcraft (JC) MI and 6'5 Chad Wise from Lonoke (H.S.) AR has picked Connecticut over Arkansas.  Rutgers got 6'2 Jerome Coleman from Cecil (JC) MD late last week and Miami-FL has signed 6'8 Will Frisby from Fresno City (JC) CA.  

For the last several weeks we've been promising you an updated Kentucky Report and finally things have slowed down enough in terms of recruiting information and travel to finish it once and for all.  Included are our all-state teams, comments about the top players in the each class, and our rankings in order of the of the top 75 seniors, top 60 juniors, top 45 sophomores, top 34 freshmen, 15 8th graders, and one six grader. The top five seniors in order are 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'2 Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, 6'5 Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY, and 6'1 Adam Chiles from Louisville (Ballard) KY.  The top five juniors in order are 5'9 Jr Brandon Stockton from Glasgow (H.S.) KY, 6'7 Jr LaVar Carter from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'8 Jr Mark Surglaski from Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY, 5'10 Jr Quinten Smith from Radcliff (North Hardin) KY, and 6'5 Jr Larry Williams from Louisville (Seneca) KY.  The top five sophomores in order are 6'3 Soph Michael Bush from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'7 Soph Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, 6'8 Soph Isaiah Mills from Corbin (H.S.) KY, 6'6 Soph David Cornwell from Louisville (Ballard) KY, and 6'6 Soph Tyler Ray from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY.  Bush also is the only underclassmen named to the first team all-state team and in our opinion he is the third best player in the state behind Hurt and Bender.  Sure, a lot of people want to penalize Bush because he plays football, but we don't even think it's close.  The top five freshmen are 6'8 Frosh Robbie Simpson from Louisville (Seneca) KY, 6'0 Frosh Rajon Rando from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Green from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'4 Frosh Scott Gabbard from McKee (Jackson County) KY, and 6'4 Frosh Shawn Ballard from Richmond (Madison Central) KY.  The best 8th grader is 5'10 Martiese Morones from Lexington (Catholic) KY and the only 6th grader on the list is 6'2 O.J. Mayo from Rose Hill (H.S.) KY.  The remaining players in each class can be found by clicking on Kihnley Ranks 'Em: The Top Prep Players in Kentucky.